


Vox Humana

by hbomba, lonejaguar



Series: Being Human [3]
Category: Lost Girl
Genre: Alternate Season/Series 04, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-20
Updated: 2013-11-24
Packaged: 2018-01-02 04:11:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1052366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hbomba/pseuds/hbomba, https://archiveofourown.org/users/lonejaguar/pseuds/lonejaguar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kenzi and Lauren share their secrets and frustrations as humans in a world of Fae. Then it’s Bo’s turn to feel the Morrigan’s wrath but Team Human has something to say about that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: The third part of a trilogy. You should probably read The Human Condition (pt 1) and Inhuman Conditions (pt 2) first. This is an alternate arc for Season 4.

__

“It’s hard to beat up a person who never gives up.” -- Babe Ruth  
__

The Camaro creaked as it pulled off the road and through the fenced gate that led to the clubhouse. Bo leaned back in the seat, her head falling against the worn leather headrest.

“Thank god that’s over.”

Lauren smirked and looked away from the file in her lap. They returned from the outskirts of town where a Hayra lived that was suspected of several Fae related crimes. With no hard evidence, Bo was tasked with finding what she needed to pin him for the Light. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“Okay, next time you can wrestle the alligator man to the ground and I’ll take his blood.” Bo looked at her companion.

“If only I had paid attention during that Jungle Jeeves marathon.” Lauren smiled and recoiled at the playful slap on her arm. “Come on, I’ll draw you a bath.”

Bo hummed and closed her eyes. “That sounds perfect,” she said. “I’ll meet you inside.”

Lauren gathered the papers in the file and tucked it into the bag that rested between her feet. She stepped out of the car into the cool evening and hoisted her medical bag over her shoulder and closed the door. The couple of the months since the Jubilee at the lake had been a bit of a challenge at first, but Bo and Kenzi had eventually managed to create an extension of the private investigation venture with the addition of Lauren’s medical and scientific talents. It meant more cases, more work and of course, more money. Finally Lauren started to feel useful, more than her experiments and encyclopedic knowledge. She was able to leave the confines of the clubhouse and enjoy the travel and the experience, but most of all the satisfaction of helping those in need.

She pushed the door open, suddenly feeling the hunger she’d been ignoring all day. The smell of fresh pizza stirred the rumble in her stomach and Lauren smiled. Kenzi was home. She might not be able to make a bowl of soup, but Kenzi could order pizza like no other.

“Oh Kenzi, thank god you wouldn’t believe…”

Lauren’s voice trailed off as her feet stopped short of the studded wall that lead to the living area in the clubhouse. She blinked twice, unsure the spectacle in front of her was real or imagined. Kenzi was pressed against the edge of the kitchen sink, her hands moving under the unmistakable blazer as Hale’s lips left hers and kissed along her throat. Lauren and Kenzi’s eyes met just as the heavy medical bag dropped to the floor.

“Oh my god, Lauren!” Kenzi exclaimed, pushing Hale away and moving quickly out from under him. “How’s my favorite human roomie slash Fae doctor who is looking so beautiful tonight.” Lauren blinked her response and Kenzi grabbed her forearms. “I thought you’d be gone all night dealing with crocodile man,” she said.

“It was an alligator,” Lauren corrected, still lost in the revelation. She looked at Hale who raised his hand in a sheepish greeting. “What…”

“Doc, I need you to focus.” Kenzi shook Lauren gently as Bo pushed the door open. “Please don’t tell Bo,” she whispered.

Lauren blinked again, the event finally registering in her brain. “Kenzi,” she started, looking back at the door.

“You ordered pizza,” Bo said, dragging herself inside. “Bless you, Kenzi. Hey Hale, what are you doing here?” She stepped past Lauren, her hand squeezing her arm. Lauren smiled and looked pointedly at Kenzi once Bo’s back was in view. Kenzi mouthed ‘please,’ and clasped her hands together in mock prayer. Lauren rolled her eyes and picked up her bag again before walking over to the desk in the corner. 

“Ah,” Hale stumbled. “I was just trying to help out with the alligator man, but you guys clearly have it all settled.” He made his way to the door. “See you later, Kenzi--uh, Lauren… Bo.” He nodded at each of the women and disappeared out the door.

“What’s his problem?” Bo asked, her mouth half full of cheese.  
__

The small television speakers rumbled the clubhouse hours later. They were halfway through a movie when Bo excused herself to the washroom. When she was gone, Kenzi slid off the chair and set upon Lauren.

Kenzi kneeled in front of the couch. “I’m serious. Peeps are not ready to hear this news.” Lauren was torn with indecision and Kenzi was reading every pinprick of weakness on her face. “Human to human, please don’t out my Fae relationship.”

“I can’t lie to Bo.”

Kenzi made a face and sprawled into the arm chair beside the couch. “You’re seriously going there?”

Lauren sighed. “Anymore.”

“Just don’t volunteer it. She’ll never guess on her own.”

“She’s not that oblivious.”

“I’m her BFF and yes, she is.”

“Fine.” Lauren sighed. “But if she asks me--”

Bo clomped down the stairs noisily, interrupting the conversation. “What’d I miss?” she asked when she reached the bottom of the stairs.

Kenzi and Lauren looked at one another. “Nothing.”  
__

It was the splintering wood of the front door being kicked open and the booming steps of an intruder that roused Bo. Her eyes fell on the empty expanse of bed beside her. A teapot’s whistling was building with the energy in the clubhouse. Her feet hit the floor silently as she slipped into her kimono and tip toed down the stairs quickly.

Bo heard Lauren‘s voice and began to unsheathe her knife. “Why are you here?” 

On the third step, she saw him. The Hayra, an alligator Fae--the alligator Fae that they had tangled with earlier. He lumbered into the living room, taunting Lauren. 

“I’m here to even the score, human,” he snarled. He followed her as she side stepped back behind the desk. His footsteps squished on the floor and Bo took a quick glance at his muddied feet and clothes. He looked just like how they left him, unconscious in the marsh they found him in.

Lauren stood frozen in panic as the Hayra scanned the area until his yellow eyes fell on her. Bo stepped gingerly down the stairs, watching the scene develop.

“It’s simple. You take my blood,” he started again. “I take yours.” He flexed his scaly hands, smiling at her, his broken and pointed teeth gleaming in the dim light. He squeezed her face with his sticky paw, scratching her cheek with a claw as he went. With a hand on each arm, he threw Lauren the few feet onto the coffee table, splintering it as she fell to the floor. She coughed, wiping the blood from her cheek. The Hayra laughed, low and menacing as Lauren pulled herself to her feet, bracing herself on the edge of the sofa. 

“Not so tough when there’s no Succubus to protect you, hey?” He was moving toward Lauren, cracking his knuckles as he went. “I love putting humans in their place.”

“Guess again, you glorified iguana,” Bo moved in from the rear, scraping her knife against the Hayra’s scaly throat. She smiled. A dragging noise caused Bo to pause but it wasn’t until the muddy and crusty tail swept her legs out from under her that Bo knew the origin of the sound. 

Lauren dodged his first swing. It was a wide swipe that left him open for a split second and Lauren countered with a swift punch to his chest. She stumbled toward Bo but the booming footsteps followed too closely. She spun to face her attacker who snarled at her as Bo clambered to her feet behind her. “This will only hurt for a second,” he said through gnashed teeth, spitting as he spoke. 

Bo was on her feet, her knife, however, was across the room and Lauren was being lifted by her shoulders and thrown away like a rag doll. Bo could hear her coughing and gasping for air as she rushed to her feet in the kitchen. The Hayra was hungry for more, lurching toward Lauren. 

She hurried to retrieve her weapon and advanced on the Hayra once again. And then it happened. Lauren picked up a can of cooking spray. She had bypassed the cast iron pan on the stove, a perfectly good kettle still screaming as their fight raged on and a number of knives went overlooked. 

“Gonna cook me something?” He growled as he loomed over Lauren.

She lunged for the drawer in the island, reaching into it and retrieving a barbeque lighter.

Lauren pointed the cooking spray at the Fae and when she lifted the lighter, he started to laugh at her. She smiled as she put the two together and the can became an instant flamethrower. The flames engulfed the Hayra and he staggered backwards, holding his face as he ran out the front door.

Lauren slammed the can of cooking spray down onto the counter and tossed the barbeque lighter away. “In a manner of speaking,” the bravado in her voice stirred something in Bo.

“What the hell was that?” Bo said as she approached her.

“Apparently he didn’t like my bedside manner.”

“Who brought barbeque?” Kenzi rubbed her eyes sleepily, emerging from her bedroom.

Bo glanced at Kenzi while she sheathed her dagger and moved to Lauren’s side. “Are you okay?” she asked, touching the cut on her cheek.

“Yeah,” Lauren replied. She sounded almost surprised. “I’m fine.”

Kenzi sighed audibly. “So there’s no barbeque?”

“Go back to bed, Kenzi,“ Lauren said, but her eyes didn’t leave Bo. Kenzi turned with a sigh and disappeared around the corner.

Bo wrapped her arms around Lauren and held her close. “So what else do you know?” she asked. “Are you part of some secret society?”

Lauren hummed, kissing Bo’s chin. “Maybe.”

Bo was buzzing with sexual energy. Lauren’s scent was in her nose, her hair was threaded through her fingers and desire was in her eyes. Lauren smiled knowingly.

“So what were you doing down here, anyway?” Bo squeezed Lauren in her arms.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“I see,” Bo replied. Her grip tightened. “I could help you with that.”

“Really?” Lauren’s lips curled. She leaned in and kissed Bo gently, her fingers tracing the length of her neck. Bo’s eyes closed, her grip loosening. The intensity she felt in Lauren’s kiss was unusual, but not unwelcome. Between that and the spectacle she just witnessed, Bo wasn’t sure if she should be concerned or ecstatic. Bo watched Lauren thread the edge of her kimono through her fingers until she pulled it carefully, watching the fabric fall open to view. Bo could feel the burn in the wake of Lauren’s gaze as she appraised the expanse of bare skin.

“Well.“ Bo smiled, squeezing Lauren’s waist. “Come to my office, Doctor.”  
__

Lauren hadn’t ever counted before. They had hypothesized in Med School during a night at a bar, even organized an experiment, but never went through with it. Though she was a scientist, she found the idea too detached to quantify. As if some things didn’t need to be tested. And that idea extended almost exclusively to sex.

So when they had raced up the stairs, tearing at each other’s clothes; after Bo pushed her onto the bed and crawled over her, she wondered. As she clung to Bo’s shoulders minutes later, her legs around her hips, the sudden blindness of orgasm sending her world white, Lauren knew this was the fastest she’d ever come in her life. She’d hardly even thought about it.

That was what was different. Lauren felt the euphoria coursing through her, sending every nerve ending a steady stream of arousal. She breathed into Bo’s ear as she caught her breath, hearing the low growl in her chest as her hand pushed between them. When Bo started to move to the side, Lauren wrapped an arm around her and held her still. After a little extra push, Lauren felt her give in. She smiled against Bo’s ear.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

The playful frustration in Bo’s voice made Lauren chuckle as she moved, but the desperation in Lauren’s ear drove her forward, her own breath falling out of cadence. With Bo, it wasn’t just the beauty that took hold of her, or even her touch, but the sounds she made were just as captivating. And when Bo’s hips pushed against her, Lauren’s arm steeled around her waist, her fingers drawing the moan from Bo’s throat. She waited then for that moment, usually just before release washed over her, when Bo’s impassioned pleas in Lauren’s ear made her groan. It was intoxicating and it was all she ever wanted to hear again.

But there was no afterglow. Lauren smirked at Bo when her eyes opened again, flashing her trademarked sapphire before claiming Lauren’s mouth. The kiss was encompassing and it sent her spiraling into the uncontrollable desire she had only felt while under influence of Bo’s thrall. But there was no thrall this time. Bo rolled to her side without interruption, taking Lauren’s wrist in her hand and pulling her across her body. Their lips met again in a rushed and fiery kiss that Lauren couldn’t get enough of. She pushed her fingers passed Bo’s ear and into her hair, relishing the caress of Bo’s hands along her back. It wasn’t until one dipped between her legs that Lauren pulled away, her forehead falling to Bo’s shoulder.

There was a whisper in her ear, but she couldn’t hear it beyond the roar of sex in her head. There was nothing else she could think about but the woman beneath her and the release that hovered in the background, nothing else she wanted, nothing else she cared about. And when she felt Bo push into her, she lost whatever clarity she had left and fell victim to the surging desire inside her. Her body burned as Bo waited to move, every muscle quivering. This was Bo at her finest; holding Lauren captive with just the tip of her finger and Lauren threw herself in willingly every time.

Bo’s breath was hot against her neck, her lips leaving a trail to her jaw. Another whisper in Lauren’s ear - this one she heard - and her hips dropped. Fingers dug into the sheets on either side of Bo as she moved, a frantic meeting of their bodies building the tension inside her. The impassioned pleas were Lauren’s now, her body responding to every touch, losing herself to the overwhelming need she felt. She couldn’t help the whimper in Bo’s ear as she felt herself nearing the edge, but it only spurred her on, faster, harder and before she knew it, she was falling over that edge, her fists pushing into the mattress.

Lauren lifted herself on shaking arms and took her time along an invisible trail from Bo’s throat, to her navel, to her hips, stilling the moment she arrived between her legs. She could feel the tension in Bo when she took a second too long appreciating her luck, her breath teasing. The air around them nearly vibrated as Bo waited, her body clearly not as patient as her will.

The slow burn was Lauren’s favorite. Partly because the payoff was unrivaled, but mostly because the challenge was irresistible. Sometimes it was hard to slow Bo down between the sheets and there were few things that distracted her. Lauren tended to use that focused dedication to her advantage, reacting before Bo could act, kissing her first, touching her first. 

For the simple human she was, Lauren still couldn’t believe that she could hold one of the most powerful Fae at her mercy. Every sigh, every hum and moan was the fuel to the fire inside her and Lauren consumed every sound like it meant life or death. She didn’t dare stop. The push of Bo’s hips tempted, her fingers tangled in her hair, but Lauren didn’t give in this time, pushing Bo to the edge and pulling her back again, over and over. Bo groaned in frustration, her fingers flexing, impatient and desperate. The control was empowering, arousing even. And when Lauren finally did give Bo what she wanted, she did so with a level of controlled obsession that she only recognized from her fantasies.

Lauren’s name lingered on Bo’s lips as she came, clutching the sheets with one hand and steeling her grip on Lauren’s hand with the other. Hips danced against her, stealing every moment Lauren was willing to give until she crawled up Bo’s body and was pulled into a kiss she wasn’t sure she’d recover from.

Bo smiled when they parted, her chest rising and falling with effort. “That was,” she breathed. “I mean, that time...” Bo chuckled at her own inability to speak. “What’s gotten into you?”

“I don’t know,” Lauren murmured her way from Bo’s ear to her shoulder. “Adrenaline from the fight?” From her shoulder to her chest. “New lease on life?” Before her mouth covered Bo’s breast, she asked: “Ready for more?”

Bo arched from the bed, a quiet roar developing in her throat. “Hell, yes.”  
__


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s Bo’s turn to feel the Morrigan’s wrath but Team Human has something to say about that.

__ 

It was early in the morning when she stepped carefully down the basement stairs, cup of coffee in her hand. There wasn’t much sleep to be had the night before, but Lauren was attached to her morning lab time. It was one of the few times the clubhouse was silent, so she regularly escaped to the basement with her thoughts and her coffee. The basement had become hers. She’d managed to get most of the clutter out and organized in the corner next to the stairs after promising Kenzi she wouldn’t throw out the fondue pot from the 1970s. The rest was hers to do with what she pleased, so with a little of her savings, Lauren had built herself a basic lab, filled with steel tables along one wall and a large table in the centre. This housed a few machines and a couple of microscopes they ‘borrowed’ from the Ash, payment for time served, she figured. She’d even had some plumbing and electrical run so the lab was next to perfect.

Lauren sipped the cup of coffee and flipped a folder open. She was perched on a stool next to the large table in the centre of the room, a box sitting next to her. This was how she relaxed in the morning. Usually awake before anyone else in the house, Lauren escaped to her cozy subterranean lab to follow up with experiments or research.

This morning was going through a box of Dr. Everett’s research that Hale had liberated from the Ash’s archives for her. It was a bit of an olive branch between the two of them after the truth behind Lachlan’s letter was revealed. Lauren had shared a theory with Hale that would benefit from her mentor’s research, if only she could get her hands on it and Hale made it happen. She’d been in and out of the box over the last week, reading, absorbing, committing to memory anything she thought might affect her own research.

She lifted the cup to her lips, sipping the coffee with reverence as her eyes skimmed the new file. She stopped then, swallowing carefully, and placed the cup on the table. Lauren lifted the page from the file and started from the beginning. The theory was whether the ingestion, or infusion of Fae chi had any lasting affect on the human. The experiments were few as many Fae feed until death, but research on some humans included experiences of increased strength, fatigue, speed, and life expectancy.

Lauren stared at the last sentence. Bo wasn’t wrong when she asked Lauren what had gotten into her last night. It wasn’t normal, despite her wanting it to be. Lauren sighed and looked at her hands. They looked the same. Had something changed since Bo had revived her?

Setting the file aside, Lauren reached into the top drawer. She gathered cotton balls and antiseptic before tying off her bicep and started drawing a vial of blood.

“Lauren?” Bo called from the top of the stairs.

Lauren swore to herself, untied her arm and swiftly taped over the needle mark. “Yeah?”

“You hungry?”

Her hands worked quickly, moving expertly as she prepared the sample for storage. The test would have to wait. “I’ll be right up.”

__

Kenzi dragged herself up the concrete steps and through the glass door, the bell above her head clearing her brain of any cobwebs that might have lasted over night. It had been another long and sleepless night. Kenzi couldn’t sleep a wink. She slid into the booth across from Hale and blessed the waitress who was right behind her with a carafe of coffee.

“Long night?” Hale smirked.

Kenzi wrapped her fingers around the cup and sipped from it. “Ha ha,” she mocked. “You didn’t have to sit through the marathon sex that started after Lauren torched Gator Face.”

“Sounds horrible,” he grinned.

“Augh,” Kenzi rolled her eyes, rubbing her face with her hand.

“So why don’t we just tell her? Lauren knows, isn’t it just a matter of time?”

Kenzi hushed him and leaned across the table. “Because they’re not going to let you back in as the Ash while you’re dating a human.” Hale made a noise and waved at her. “And Lauren is a professional secret keeper.”

“You asked her to lie to Bo, Kenz.” Hale leaned back over the table. “And might I remind you that this was your idea in the first place?”

“I know, I just--” she looked into her coffee. “I don’t want to start our relationship like that.”

“Like what?” Hale cocked his head.

“Like something people make fun of. Appearances matter, Hale.” 

“I don’t care if some Fae blowhard approves of our relationship. It doesn’t matter to me.”

“Well, it should, especially if you want to be the Ash.”

Hale shook his head with a laugh. “Who are you, my father?” He took Kenzi’s hands in his. “I want to be with you, Kenzi.”

Kenzi swatted at him. “God, you’re such a girl.” 

“Now are you gonna eat something, or what?”

“What kind of pie do they have?” Kenzi poured more sugar into her coffee. She listened to Hale rattle off a list of pies and raised her hand to hail the waitress as soon as she heard ‘lemon meringue.’ A moment later the pie was sitting in front of her in all its glory. She picked up a fork and took a bite. Smiling, she said: “When life gives you lemons, you make a nice meringue.”  
__

Bo pushed her way into the Dal. It was empty, in a rare private moment and Trick was at the bar readying his glassware for the night ahead. She was flying solo, having left the Humans to their own devices as she sought the counsel of her grandfather.

“Why the long face?” Trick asked with a sympathetic tilt of his head.

Bo sat across from him at the bar and shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

“You certainly don’t sound so sure of that.”

Bo sighed. “It’s Kenzi,” she started, “and Lauren too, I guess.”

“Ah, human trouble.”

“Yeah,” Bo shook her head. “It’s the worst.”

Trick inspected a glass he had been polishing under the light. “Owning humans is a tricky thing.”

“They’re my friends,” Bo said simply. “I don’t want to own them.”

“You may have made the decision to own hastily, but it cannot be undone.”

“You know how I feel about rules.” Bo cast a knowing glance at Trick.

“Kenzi and Lauren have to be owned, Bo. If they’re not, knowing what they know about the Fae, they’re moving targets. Freedom is a dire thing.” Bo sighed again and Trick set the glass down. “I know you don’t like owning them, Bo, but it’s for their own good.”

“I’ve heard that one before,” Bo said skeptically.

“Bo, you mustn’t take this responsibility lightly.”

Bo shrugged him off. “I got it. Just another perk of being Fae.” She stepped away, dragging her hand off the bar as she turned to walk away. “Thanks Trick,” she called, yanking open the Dal’s front door and disappearing through it.  
__

“So just so you know,” Kenzi started as she followed Lauren down the stairs to the basement. “I like my bed turned down on the right and three, not two pillows. And dark chocolate only, I don’t want any cheap stuff.”

Lauren rolled her eyes and flicked on the lights in the lab, revealing an array of beakers filled with different materials. She had lost a bet with Kenzi: pick a lock in under sixty seconds, or make her bed for a month.

“I still don’t think I took that long.”

“Ten minutes,” Kenzi said. “Ten minutes! Do you know how much shit can go down in ten minutes?” Kenzi looked around the table and spotted the cut black pipe and caps. She groaned. “Science class, again?”

“Look, science is a part of everything you do. It can heal you, hurt you, make you rich, or drive you crazy. Science is an often overlooked weapon.” Lauren offered Kenzi a seat. “Besides, I did your lock pick thing, so now it’s your turn.”

Kenzi sighed in resignation and sat on the stool. “But I already know how to make pipe bombs.”

Lauren shook her head. “Pipe bombs aren’t nuanced. Anyone can blow something up.” She picked up the finished product. “Smoke bombs take panache. Do you want thirty seconds to run away, do you need sixty to knock someone out, do you want to… well, kill somebody.”

Kenzi‘s jaw dropped. “Doc!”

Lauren looked at her. “Well hypothetically. The point is smoke bombs aren’t just diversionary, they can do so much more.” She looked at Kenzi who stared with wonder.

“You’re amazing,” she breathed.

Lauren smiled and handed her a pair of goggles. “Put these on.”  
__

The evening had started simply enough. A pizza, a few drinks and a monster movie marathon. But things had unraveled quickly as they opened a second bottle of vodka. Boris Karloff had just chewed some serious scenery in The Mummy when Kenzi yawned. 

“Halloween was two weeks ago, why are we watching monster movies?”

“We always--”

Kenzi cut Bo off. “This domesticity thing isn’t doing it for me. I mean it’s great that you two are so happy but I’m used to you being miserable.”

“What can I do to help you through this transition?” Bo asked, her sarcasm evident.

Kenzi sat up. “I thought you’d never ask.” 

Kenzi waggled the bottle of vodka between them. “In the long and storied history of Truth or Drink, one must answer the question or take a swig of the firewater.” 

One swig turned into two, two turned into five, and before she knew it, they’d been at it for an hour and Kenzi hadn’t got a damn bit of dirt out of Lauren. Crammed together on the sofa, Lauren leaned into Bo as Kenzi hung off the other end of the couch with the bottle of vodka.

“All right, one more time. Does Bo ever let you top her?”

“Drink.” Bo said immediately, pointing at the ceiling.

“But what if I want to answer?” Lauren grinned.

“Yeah, what if she wants to answer, Bo?” Kenzi slurred.

“Why is everything about sex with you guys?” Bo sighed melodramatically. 

“Hello, Succubusty!“ Kenzi elbowed Bo in the side and passed the bottle.

“Okay, I deserved that, but--”

“How many people have you had sex with, Bo?” Kenzi prodded.

“Christ, Kenzi!”

“Just drink and get it over with, Succubus.” Kenzi passed the bottle to Bo who took a heavy swig. She squeezed her eyes shut at the burn that scorched her throat. He questions were rapid fire. “Are you a gold star lesbian?” 

Lauren looked like a deer in headlights. “Me?”

Kenzi rolled her eyes. “Well, it’s not Bo, Doc.”

Bo sat up. “This should be good.”

Lauren was past tipsy and approaching blotto fast. She could lie but Lauren never was much for cheating. It’s just a drinking game, she reminded herself. But Bo was looking at her intently and Kenzi was rubbing her hands together excitedly. The truth would set her free. Why was she embarrassed anyways?

“Doc’s gonna answer one,” Kenzi grinned.

She looked at Kenzi and then to Bo. “Yes.”

“I knew it!”

“Drink up, Kenzi. I answered, you drink.”

Bo held up the bottle and Kenzi snatched it away.

“Have you ever been in love?”

Kenzi grew quiet. Bo and Lauren exchanged glances. “Kenz?”

She shook her head then nodded. “Yeah.”

Lauren took the bottle and drank again. She raised the back of her hand to her lips. How long could they possibly go on like this?

Then it happened, Kenzi called it. “Try to keep the decibels down, I need my beauty sleep.” With that, Kenzi stood and headed to her bedroom.

Bo and Lauren shared a sideways glance as Kenzi retreated. “Kenz,” Bo called after her, “everything okay?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, “I’m just trashed and my bed is calling my name.”

Bo sat back and took another drink from the bottle of vodka. Her tolerance put Lauren and Kenzi to shame. Drinking with Bo was like drinking with, well, a tank that could drink. Lauren lay her head in Bo’s lap and hummed as Bo’s hand smoothed her hair. They sat that way for a long while, Bo continuing to drink as Lauren faded in and out.

“Babe?” Bo said quietly.

“Hmm?” Lauren replied sleepily.

“Are you happy here?”

Lauren inhaled and pushed herself up on an arm. “Yes, of course.”

“You’re sure?” 

“What’s this about?”

“We’ve been working at this for awhile now and I guess I’m just checking in.”

“Bo, I love you. You make me happy. End of story.” Lauren crawled up Bo’s side and pressed her lips against Bo’s cheek. “Let’s go to bed,” she took the bottle from her hand and set it aside. Lauren took Bo’s hand and led her upstairs.   
__

Waking up in an embrace was an experience she didn’t know she missed until she’d lost it. It was something that Kenzi relished in now, the warmth of skin under blankets was almost paralyzing. She stretched luxuriously and yawned as she looked at the clock.

8:30. Panic.

“Oh my God.” Kenzi kicked off the blankets. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.” Leaning forward on the edge of the bed, she fished around the floor for her clothes.

“Where you going?” Hale reached out without opening his eyes.

“It’s eight thirty, I have to go.” Kenzi scrambled around the bedroom. “Lauren gets up at eight o’clock every day, she’s like, fuckin’ clockwork, and I’m not supposed to be here.”

“Who cares?” Hale stretched and rested his hands behind his head. “Lauren knows anyway.”

“I know,” Kenzi stressed as she stuffed her underwear into her bag. Slinging it over her shoulder, she sighed. “I hate this, Hale. I hate lying to her.”

“I know.” Hale sat up and wrapped the blanket around his waist. “But come on, Bo’d understand. We can tell her as soon as I smooth things over with the Light elders.”

The beeping from Kenzi’s phone interrupted the silence. She dug around her bag and pulled out the device, tapping the screen. “Great, it’s Lauren. Probably texting me to tell me she hates my guts and is telling Bo everything.” She frowned. “Syrup?”  
__

The sun was cresting on the wall beside the bed as Lauren opened her eyes. She awoke as she was wont to do when Bo decided to cook--by fire alarm. She groaned at the dull thump in her head and threw on a robe before shuffling downstairs towards the latest culinary debacle. 

“Where’s Kenzi?” was the first question from Bo, the smoke rising in front of her.

Lauren gestured to the stove. “Your pancake’s burning.”

Bo looked down and swore, scooping the darkened pancake and dumping it in the garbage. “She makes the pancakes, where the hell is she?”

Lauren stared into the mug on the counter and paused before pouring the coffee. She wasn’t expecting to have to do this so soon. “I think I heard her leave early this morning” she said, sipping from her mug, her mind running in circles. “She probably just went out to pick up a few things.”

“Hm.” Bo grabbed the bowl from the counter and frowned as she poured the batter into the frying pan. “That’s weird.”

Lauren watched Bo turn, busying herself with breakfast again and picked up her phone. Surprising and disgusting herself with how easy this all came to her, she pressed a message into the phone without taking her eyes from Bo’s back. Lauren set the phone on the island carefully and picked up her coffee again. 

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Lauren smiled.  
__

“Buenas dias, chicas,” Kenzi called, parading into the clubhouse. She put the bottle of syrup on the island.

“You’ve been gone for forty-five minutes, Kenzi,” Bo said, her empty plate in front of her. “Did you have to tap some trees?”

“No,” Kenzi replied with a smirk.

“Because we had syrup.” Bo held up the bottle.

Kenzi stopped midway through pulling her jacket off and looked over to the coffee pot where Lauren stood. The doctor shrugged, silently apologizing. “Well,” Kenzi started, smiling at Bo again. “Your girlfriend was insistent on blueberry syrup. I had to go to three stores to get it.”

Lauren rolled her eyes and returned to Bo’s side. “Thank you, Kenzi.” She smiled sweetly.

Kenzi returned the smile as she started piling pancakes on her plate. “Anytime.”

Bo watched Kenzi until she sat down across from her. “You’re so weird. Are you up to something?”

The sinking feeling in Lauren’s stomach wasn’t new. She should have known Bo wouldn’t buy it. “I’ll see you guys later,” she said, escaping to the stairs. 

“Now where are you going?” Bo complained.

Lauren stopped, glancing from Kenzi to Bo. “Just downstairs,” she replied. “I’ve got some research to catch up on.”

Bo sighed after Lauren disappeared into the basement. “Between your syrup and her science…”

“Her syrup,” Kenzi corrected. “It was her syrup.”

__

“Chi, as energy, is a force that has been elusive to science, difficult to measure, track and study as it acts and reacts differently depending on the originating or receiving end. While much is dedicated to what happens to Fae and humans when their chi is taken, there is little research on how it affects them when chi is passed in reverse.

“If chi is passed in the form of giving life instead of taking it, and chi is a part of the source’s life, does the source then pass along parts of their basic makeup in addition to their life’s energy? And if so, is enough transmitted to alter the makeup of the receiver? This is research I hope to undertake in the coming years…”

Lauren pored over the documents, reading results, accounts from test subjects, but no conclusions. The most recent document was months before Dr. Everett died. Lauren looked over at the microscope next to her. She’d mounted the slide ten minutes ago, telling herself she wanted to finish that last paragraph.

What are you afraid of? she asked herself. It was a good question. She’d spent the last few years wanting nothing more than to be Fae so she could stop being harassed for being worthless, so Fae would stop looking at her like a walking buffet, so she could be free. And be free to be with Bo without questions or subtle whispers.

Lauren closed the file and leaned over to the microscope, her heart beating fiercely in her chest. The logical side of her reasoned that a person’s entire genetic sequence couldn’t be altered that simply. But the Fae-affected part of her theorized that if she was brought back from death solely with Fae chi, it seemed just as logical that something could have been passed from Bo. 

She peered through the eyepiece, turning the dial backwards and forwards, trying to explain the abnormalities that would be obvious to a med student.

“Shit,” she sighed.  
__


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s Bo’s turn to feel the Morrigan’s wrath but Team Human has something to say about that.

__

Hours later, when Lauren couldn’t fret over Fae or blood or chi anymore, she sat in the bathtub, surrounded by bubbles popping in the cool air of the bathroom. She turned a page in the book she was reading. Escapism or avoidance she couldn’t decide, but the book was boring and her life was not.

She heard Bo’s heels on the stairs before she emerged from the stairwell. She smiled immediately. “You’re still in there?”

Lauren looked over her shoulder at Bo. “I just want to finish this chapter.” She held the book up. 

Bo chuckled. ”No, seriously.”

“I am completely serious,” Lauren said, turning in the tub to drive her point home.

“What has gotten into everybody?” Bo whined. “First Kenzi, now you. Is this a human thing?”

Lauren sighed and held her book above the waterline. “No. It’s not a human thing. I have been wanting to read this book since it came out months ago. And Kenzi, I don’t know, you know how she gets when she’s on her period.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” She studied her nails, looking over them at Lauren. “I know you said you wanted to read but I thought we could get out of the house, maybe grab a drink?”

Lauren smiled at Bo’s tact. She could make a trip to the Dal sound like the destination despite the fact that it was the only place they ever went.

“Is that a yes?”

Lauren stood in the bathtub, water running down her body, and tossed her book to the side. 

Bo was captivated by the handfuls of bubbles that slowly rolled down her frame. Lauren reached out for a steadying hand as she stepped from the tub and found herself being pulled toward the bedroom, leaving soggy footprints as she went.   
__

She had fled the clubhouse when the noise upstairs became too unbearable. It was dinnertime and the snarl of her stomach had led her to the best free meal in Faeville. “Hungry?” Trick smiled as he slid the plate of food in front of her. 

Kenzi’s eyes were impossibly wide as she surveyed her food. “Thank you, oh kind Innkeeper.”

Trick’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Enjoy,” he said turning towards the bar.

Kenzi began an aerial assault on the French fries on her plate, pausing only to smack a ketchup bottle on the bottom until the fries were bathed in red.

“Where’s your owner?” A voice said from behind her. 

Kenzi turned in her chair, looking over her shoulder at the Fae that deigned to disturb her meal. There Tamsin stood, hand on hip, waiting for an answer.

“Relax, she’ll be here. She just had something to do before she could tear herself away. That’s code for Lauren, of course.”

“Codes work better if you don’t crack them for your audience.”

“What do you want with her, anyways?” Kenzi said with a mouth half full of burger.

“It’s complicated.”

“I bet it is,” Kenzi said dismissively, shoving another French fry in her mouth. 

“Can you just tell her I was looking for her?”

“Nuh-uh. Not a chance in Hades am I getting involved in this.”

Tamsin sighed. “I’ll buy you a beer.”  
Kenzi gestured at her plate. “Does it look like I pay for anything around here? Besides, I hear Trick‘s about to lay the hammer down on your bar tab.”

Tamsin rolled her eyes. “I’ll be at the pool table if you change your mind.”

“She’s with Lauren, you know.”

“Yeah,” she said, “I know.”  
__

Standing in the alley behind the Dal, arms wrapped loosely around each other’s waists, they stole a moment. A kiss, a nose graze, whispers under the night sky. They were lovers still enraptured by the other’s company. They had said their farewells at the Dal what felt like hours ago. The November chill in the air was in stark contrast to the flush on Lauren’s cheeks. Bo smiled slyly as they parted and reached behind the blonde to open the passenger door. She climbed in and when the door slammed shut, Lauren’s eyes fell to the side mirror and onto the sway of Bo’s hips as she walked around the car. Bo slid into the Camaro beside her and, turning the key in the ignition, fired up the engine. It was only a few minutes into the trip home when they blew a tire, stranding them in the darkest, overgrown point along the route home.

“Shit.” Bo said under her breath. “Be right back.” She popped the door and stepped out onto the gravel shoulder.

Lauren looked after Bo, who was dragging the spare out of the trunk. As she jacked the car up, Lauren reflected on the past few months. She had a lot to smile about. Saved from the Morrigan, cherished by Bo, finally friendly with Kenzi. Things were getting back to normal or rather, becoming normal. They were taking cases and Lauren was now a part of Bo’s team which afforded her even more freedom to move about the city. She opened her door and stepped out into the night with Bo, who was cursing at the lug nuts. Cars sped by as Bo tried to glean some light from the open car door. 

“Can I do anything to help?” Lauren asked.

“See if you can find a flashlight in the trunk.” Bo said, tightening a nut.

Lauren nodded and walked to the rear of the car. Bo’s trunk was a mess. Mostly, full of garbage, Lauren wondered how Bo even fit a spare tire in the mess. A bright light cast over them as a good Samaritan approached.

“Thank god,” Lauren was heard to mutter beneath her breath. Her opinion changed of the Samaritans when four men emerged from the car and made a beeline for Bo.

“Nice night for it, fellas,” Bo smiled, gripping the tire iron tightly.

“Time to go, Succubus.” A huge man moved in, muscles bulging as he inched closer.

“Little busy here, boys. Perhaps you can run along and get me a tow truck?”

“Come with us, and we won’t hurt your human.” The giant cracked his knuckles and stood over her menacingly

Bo looked over her shoulder at Lauren who was being held by two equally huge men. She stood slowly, brandishing the tire iron. “How about you take your hands off my girlfriend and I won’t beat you until you can’t remember your name?”

Lauren stomped on her captor’s foot and fell forward as he released her. The gravel dug into her knees and palms as she scrambled to her feet. Bo reached for her as another would-be kidnapper snatched her up.

Bo backed away, unfazed. She’d seen enough of these jokers in her day to know that she had everything she needed to defeat them. She surveyed the competition. Two at the rear with Lauren, two flanking her. She swung the tire iron. One down. One of the men holding Lauren punched her in the stomach. Bo lunged, but it was Lauren that came up swinging, punching her assailant who turned his cheek and smiled before his fist cracked against Lauren’s cheekbone. She dropped like a stone, landing face first in the gravel. “Lauren!” Bo called out as the other three began to overwhelm her. 

Bo’s eyes flickered and she set them on the man that had attacked Lauren, punching him in the nose before taking a long sip of his chi. She began to choke on the soulless black smoke that filled her mouth instead. Bo coughed violently. They kicked her knees out from under her and while she was hunched over, the men threw a hood on her head. As they dragged Bo to the car, she struggled mightily but she was no match for her captors and she howled for Lauren as they drove away.

But Lauren didn’t budge, out cold on the wet sand and gravel for forty-five minutes. When she awoke she was alone and the Camaro was in disarray. She closed her eyes and held her head before reaching into her pocket for her phone and calling a cab. Her emotions ran the gamut. She circled the car for ten minutes, running a soothing hand along the yellow paint as she waited. The gravel came alive beneath her feet, crunching and moving as she paced. When the cab pulled alongside the Camaro she rushed into the back, giving the driver the address. The further she got away from the Camaro, the more she began to panic. She had Bo’s name on endless loop in her head and the tears were coming now. 

The cabbie looked back at her, “Is everything all right ma’am? Do you need me to take you to the hospital?”

“No,” Lauren dabbed her nose, “I’m fine, just take me to that address.”

It was an agonizing wait, the drive to the clubhouse, and fifteen minutes later she was paying the decent man and sprinting into the house. She threw open the front door.

“Kenzi!” Lauren called out. “I really need you to be home.” Lauren was beginning to lose it. The tears were pouring down her cheeks, stinging the bloody cuts on her face as they did. 

“If we’re playing hide and seek and nobody told me, I’m gonna be peeved!” Kenzi rubbed her eyes as she entered the living room. “Oh, shazbot!” she said, rushing to Lauren’s side. She turned Lauren’s face to get a better look at the swelling under her eye. “What happened?”

“They took Bo,” Lauren stifled a sob. Kenzi walked her to the sofa and sat her down before disappearing into the kitchen. “I couldn’t stop them.”

“How many?” Kenzi asked. She wrapped some ice into a towel and brought it back to Lauren.

“Four.”

“No way four dudes could take down Bo.”

Lauren hissed when she held it to her face. “I didn’t see it happen, I was unconscious.”

“Shit. Tell me everything that happened.”

A few minutes on the sofa, Kenzi was briefed and Lauren had started to calm. 

“What are we gonna do?”

“Job one is getting the Camaro back. I want a look at that tire.”  
__

She shined a flashlight on the flat tire. “Yep,” Kenzi said, “someone punctured her tire.”

“Who would do that?” Lauren asked, holding the flashlight.

“This is Bo we’re talking about, there’s no telling who she pissed off this time.” Kenzi said.

Lauren held the flashlight as Kenzi finished changing the tire. As it turned out, Kenzi was very proficient with a tire iron. She put all her weight into tightening the lug nuts and then lowered the car to the ground. 

“Let’s see if we make it home on that.” Kenzi slapped her hands together, dusting them off.

“I’d feel a little better if you were more certain that we will, Kenz.”

“It’ll be fine,” Kenzi reassured her.

With Kenzi in the driver’s seat, Lauren felt the surrealism of the situation acutely. She had been talking non-stop since they left the crime scene. Lauren was sure it was more for her benefit than Kenzi’s need to share. Her eyes were hot as she rubbed them, feeling fatigue start to settle in. Lauren’s heart hurt. Even with whatever was happening inside of her, she still wasn’t enough. It was in moments like these that she hated her humanity. She didn’t belong in Bo’s world. She was too weak and of no use when Bo needed her. A liability. She was dead weight. For all her knowledge and expertise, Lauren was most often the one who needed saving. And a damsel she was not.

Kenzi stole a look at Lauren who had her eyes trained out the side window. “I know you’re not going to want to hear this, but I think we need Dyson.”

Lauren turned to face her. “Absolutely not.”

“C’mon Doc, it’s time you buried the hatchet.” She raised a finger. “Preferably not in his back.“ Lauren started to speak but Kenzi interrupted her. “You know I’m right.”

She sighed and turned her face to look out the window again. “Call him.”  
__

In the glare of the morning’s sunshine, everything looked different. Lauren stood over the angel she had made in the gravel when she had fallen. 

“Where is he?”

“He’ll be here.” Kenzi sifted gravel through her hands.

The rumble of Dyson’s motorcycle rattled her bones. Lauren gritted her teeth as he switched it off and kicked out the kickstand and swung a leg over it. 

“Yo D-man,” Kenzi called over the whoosh of traffic.

Dyson squinted in the sunlight, his teeth shining in the sun as he inhaled the scene. “Ogres,” he said almost immediately. “They didn’t even bother covering their scent.”

“What’s that mean?” Kenzi asked.

Dyson scratched his beard. “I’d say they want you to come and find her.”

“Christ on a crutch, I need a drink.”

Lauren stopped circling and looked at Kenzi. “It’s nine a.m.”

“I don’t judge you for making science at dawn.”

Lauren scrunched her face. “You don’t make science, it happens on its own.”

“Then what do they need you for?” Kenzi asked innocently enough.

Lauren climbed into the Camaro. “As always you bring up a timely point.”  
__

Kenzi pushed open the door to the Dal with authority, scuttling away from Lauren and toward the liquor. Lauren looked into the faces of the night’s hold outs as they looked into her battered face. Lauren took a sharp breath and tried to walk with purpose as she headed for the bar. She settled on a stool near the end of the bar, waiting for Trick to be free so she could pick his brain. She was done feeling sorry for herself. If she could take down an Hayra on her own, Lauren was sure she could face whatever is holding Bo. She was strong and she was smart and with those two things she could be unstoppable. She would be unstoppable.

“Nice shiner, I’d ask what the other guy looks like but I get the feeling you didn’t put up much of a fight.”

Lauren turned to face Tamsin, who had taken up residence on the stool beside her. Fiery eyes met the chill in Tamsin’s. “There were four of them.”

Tamsin smirked. “Look. We’re gonna find her.”

“You’re half right,” Lauren started. “I will find her.”

“If Dyson’s sniffer is right, we’re dealing with a gang of Ogres and let’s be honest, you didn’t fare so well the last time you met.”

Lauren touched her cheek self-consciously. “I don’t need your help.”

“And I would argue that if you don’t want Bo to come home in pieces, you do.”

“I stand corrected. I don’t want your help.”

“Suit yourself, Doctor. Come talk to me when you’ve come to your senses.”

Lauren inhaled sharply and placed a hand on Tamsin’s arm. “Where is she?”

“Ogre gangs are kind of the Morrigan’s thing. It’s her go-to strategy when dealing with…problems.”

Lauren felt sick. She knew the Morrigan was still upset about her Jubilee but up until now had made no move for retribution. Lauren always thought it would be her Evony took again, never Bo.

Lauren stood abruptly.

“Where are you going?” Tamsin asked

Lauren turned back momentarily. “To see the Morrigan.”

“Whoa whoa whoa, Slow your roll, human.”

“This is what she wants, don’t you see?”

“So why give it to her?”

“Because, if she thinks we’re playing into her hand she’ll be easier to manipulate.”

Tamsin paused. “That is actually a solid plan.”

“Then let’s stop talking about it and go.”

Tamsin followed as Lauren walked toward the door, looking over her shoulder at Dyson and Kenzi who were deep in conversation. They walked out of the dim light of the tavern not prepared for the blinding sunlight as the door opened into the alley. Lauren squinted and walked to the Camaro.

“You’re driving?”

“Millions of humans drive themselves places every day.”

“I have no doubt about that, when’s the last time you’ve driven?”

Lauren thought back to a time not too long ago. With Nadia on her arm and Bo in her heart, she had been let loose by the Ash and Bo had loaned her the Camaro. “It’s been awhile.”

“Well, I’m convinced this is a good idea.”

“That makes two of us.” Lauren opened the driver’s side and slid inside. She felt Bo’s imprint on the car powerfully but shook it off as Tamsin crawled in beside her. Lauren turned the key and the car roared to life. She worked the clutch carefully as she backed out onto the street. Waves of anxiety rolled off Tamsin causing Lauren to smile, it was only fair, she thought, that she should make her so uncomfortable. She put it in gear and gunned the engine, tires screeching as they pulled away. Lauren rolled the window down as she drove and relished the wind in her hair. She was alive with what she was about to do. She’d gotten the better of Evony once before and she was prepared to do it again. She may be the leader of the Dark Fae but Lauren was a human with an axe to grind and today that axe was a little bigger in Bo’s absence.  
__


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s Bo’s turn to feel the Morrigan’s wrath but Team Human has something to say about that.

__

“Where is she?” Lauren’s voice was stern but louder than she had meant it to be. She walked into the Morrigan’s office quickly and with purpose, Tamsin trailing behind her.

Evony looked up from her desk and smiled instantly. “If it isn’t the little human that could! What brings you out of your Succubus embrace, Doctor?”

“I know you took her.”

“What if I did?”

“I will settle the debt. It’s me that you want.”

The Morrigan laughed. “I’ve got what I want.”

Lauren felt her shoulders slump slightly and she straightened. She couldn‘t afford to show weakness to someone as ruthless as Evony. “What are you going to do?”

“Now where’s the fun in that? I’d rather watch you squirm as you imagine what I’m going to do to your dear old girlfriend.”

Tamsin tugged on Lauren’s arm and Lauren immediately shrugged her off. “I want to see her.”

The Morrigan laughed again. “There’s a world of people out there,” she gestured to the wall to wall, floor to ceiling windows, “and they all want something. Get used to that feeling, Doctor. There’s no deal to be made here.”

“C’mon,” Tamsin said quietly.

“This isn’t over,” Lauren said, nearly a whisper as she turned on her heel and started to walk away.

“Still slumming with the humans, Tamsin? What has that silly Succubus done to you?” Tamsin looked over her shoulder at the Morrigan who smirked knowingly.  
__

“Are you kidding me?” Bo struggled with a floor tile. She scratched at the edge of it compulsively, her barely-manicured nails doing little more than cleaning the dirt from the seams. The Morrigan’s dungeon wasn’t nearly as crisp and perfect as her office. It was damp, dimly lit and smelled of sweat and mildew. Crouching over the dingy floor, Bo sighed.

“Redecorating?” Vex peered at her from the adjoining cell.

She grunted again as she tried to pry the tile free. “I’m trying to get out of here.” 

“By digging a tunnel?”

“You got a better idea?” Bo sat back on her heels and looked at him.

Vex sat on his cot and laid back. He looked far too comfortable considering the atmosphere. “Sit back and relax, Sweetie,” he said to the ceiling. “You’re gonna be here awhile.”

Bo stood brushing the dirt off her knees. She scanned the room for exits and came up empty, they seemed to be on their own. “Someone will come for me.” 

Vex scoffed. “Famous last words.”

Bo sat on her cot and looked at her hands, dirty and red from the effort. Lauren was never far from her mind and she began again to fret over her. The Ogres had knocked her unconscious and left her for dead. She had failed to protect Lauren for a second time and the Morrigan was responsible for her peril once again. Bo’s fingers curled around the cot and her knuckles whitened. 

Vex giggled. “She’s gotten under your skin. Don’t worry, love, you’re not the first and I certainly doubt you’ll be the last.”

“Can you just not talk to me?” Bo laid back on the cot, cupping her hands behind her head. Christ, she thought, Vex was actually consoling her. Was he a plant? Did the Morrigan actually think she would open up to that jackass?

When the loud clang of the dungeon door unlocking rang through the cells, Bo sat up quickly. 

“Don’t get up on my account.” Evony sneered at Bo through the bars as Bo shuffled to her feet.

Bo moved toward the bars. “Let me out,” she nearly growled.

The Morrigan smiled slyly. “Now where’s the fun in that?”

Bo’s eyes flashed in anger. “I could take care of this right now…” 

“Actually, you can’t.” The Morrigan winked. She gestured toward Bo. “How’s the harness? Not too tight, I hope.” She looked at Vex who wore the same over his clothes. It was a thick cable that was cinched across his back. “It’s an ingenious new security measure. Take away a Fae’s power and they’re as good as human.”

“You can’t hold me forever.”

“Who’s going to break you out, the Light Fae wolf or your pathetic human entourage?”

Bo lunged at her, reaching between the bars as Evony stepped away. “Someone will come.”

Evony touched her lips with an index finger. “You know, come to think of it, you did have a visitor today.”

“Lauren?” Bo gripped the bars. 

The Morrigan cocked her head to the side and pouted melodramatically. “She got moody when I sent her away.”

“She’ll be back.”

“Oh, I hope so.”  
__

Lauren poured over a file as Kenzi paced in the kitchen. It was annoying. Bo was captured by the Morrigan and no one knew what her plans are. It was a time of action, they should be doing something. Kenzi sighed dramatically. “Are you gonna drown your sorrows in science all night?”

Dropping the file in her lap, Lauren looked over her shoulder at the other woman. “Do you have another suggestion?”

“For starters, Kenzi doesn’t drown her sorrows in anything less than eighty proof.“ Kenzi took three strides toward the couch, a tequila bottle in one hand and a pair of shot glasses in the other. She plopped onto the couch beside Lauren and smiled like the Cheshire cat. “Let’s do this Kenzi style.” 

They were not always the best of friends having only Bo in common but something had changed and there was a deeper appreciation at work. A year ago she couldn’t imagine throwing back tequila shots with Kenzi but that was exactly what she was doing.

On her third shot, Lauren made a face. Kenzi pointed at her. “Don’t look so sour, Doc. We’ll get her back. We got you back, didn‘t we?”

Lauren nodded and watched her glass fill again. She knew Kenzi was right but at that moment she had no clue how they were going to accomplish that. The fourth shot hovered at her lips. “Kenzi, she asked me if I thought anything was going on with you.”

Kenzi straightened her back, perched on the edge of the couch. Lauren poured the drink down her throat. “What did you say?”

“I told her I didn’t think so.” She looked at Kenzi. “ That maybe you were having an off day.”

The expression of disbelief in Kenzi’s face was unmistakable. “You lied for me.”

“I don’t want to do it again, Kenzi.”

“Roger that.” Kenzi exhaled in relief, but her anxiety still bubbled at the surface. “Next time I see Bo,” she said. “I’ll tell her.” Lauren stretched her arm out toward Kenzi, tapping the tequila bottle with her glass. “For your loyalty, I give you the keys to the city.” Kenzi reached into her pocket and pulled a pair of metal implements.

Lauren made a face. “I’m drunk, Kenz and I think we’ve established that I am no lock picker.”

“You should learn, Doc. Hanging around with Bo you never know what sort of mess you’ll find yourself in until you’re in it.” Lauren rolled her head from side to side before reaching out for the tools Kenzi offered. “Great!” Kenzi dropped a lock into her hands. “I’m timing you.”

Lauren sighed and set her drink down. She turned the lock over in her hands. It was old and brass, weathered and antique but she paid it no mind. She doubted she could break into even the most rudimentary lock in her current state. She went through the steps in her head before inserting the tension wrench into the lock. Slowly she pushed the pick into the upper part of the lock and began to rake the tumblers inside. It was a quick and dirty way to pick a lock that Kenzi had shown her but like so many other times she did not succeed. 

“Keep the torque, you‘re gonna lose it,” Kenzi coached. “Patience, patience,” Kenzi instructed in a sing song voice. 

Lauren gritted her teeth and turned the tools in the mechanism. 

Click.

The arm popped up from the pad lock. “I did it? I did it!”

Kenzi stopped the clock. “Four minutes, ten seconds.”

“Shit.” Lauren’s high dissipated almost instantly. 

Kenzi smiled sweetly and pressed the lock closed in Lauren‘s hand. “Try again.”  
__

Bo paced in her cell. Vex had been whistling the 1812 Overture since Evony left and it was driving her bat shit crazy.

“Do you mind?” She finally blurted through the bars.

Vex sat up on his bunk. “What’s the matter, love, not a fan of Tchaikovsky?”

“No.” She sighed, sitting on the edge of her bunk and running her hands through her hair. “Not right now.”

“Ah, I see. Feeling that your own immortality is fleeting? She tends to have that effect on people.”

“How long have you even been in here?” Bo asked critically.

“Longer than your baby Fae face has been around, I’m afraid.” He raised a finger in the air. “Collectively,” he clarified, “not consecutively.”

“Well that explains a lot.”

“Say what you mean and mean what you say, Succubus.” 

“I just mean--” she stuttered. “You’d agree this might change a person.”

“Oh yeah,” he agreed. “I used to be a real dick.” Bo nodded suppressing a smile. “So tell me something.” It was never the way you wanted a sentence to start coming from Vex. “That blonde of yours? Naughty or nice?” He raised his eyebrows and stared at her through the bars.

“Get bent.”

“Naughty,” he nodded. “That is nice.” He grinned and stroked his chin. Bo laid on the bunk, bringing her knees to her chest. Vex’s incessant chatting was driving her crazy, even though he wasn’t far off the mark. Lauren had been a little different in the last couple of months, though Bo couldn’t say she hated it. She could do with the extra sex and the badass girlfriend. But she didn’t dare speak to Vex about it. He already needled her for every little detail about her sex life, Bo didn’t need to make it easy for him. This must have been what Lauren must’ve suffered through when the Morrigan took her. “It’s a shame you’re gonna die without tasting that again.”

“What about you?”

“Well, I never tasted--”

“Vex,” she warned, cutting him off. 

“Oh, you mean when am I going to die? I seem to have ingratiated myself to the Morrigan. She keeps me in this hole until she needs me. I’m afraid she has no use for you.”

Bo scoffed. “I won’t be staying for the finale.”  
__

Sleep came a little easier to Kenzi that night. She’d never given Lauren any credit, but the more time they spent together, the more Kenzi saw the strength beyond the vulnerability in Lauren. When her eyes opened, Kenzi swore she could smell coffee. She got to her feet and shuffled out into the living room to see Lauren in the kitchen, sitting at the island, her face buried in a folder. The light shone on the plate of muffins like the sacred idol in a Hollywood movie.

“Oh my God, coffee and muffins in the middle of the night,” she said, approaching the island. “Am I dreaming?”

Lauren folded the file over her hand. “I’m sorry, Kenzi,” she apologized. “Did I wake you?”

Kenzi poured herself some coffee. “Just with the scent of sugary heaven.” She was smiling when she turned around.

Lauren smiled sheepishly and nodded, then gestured to the plate. “Please, help yourself.”

It was getting more comfortable for Kenzi to be alone with Lauren. She would never admit to being intimidated by her intelligence, but it was sometimes unsettling to be in the presence of someone so smart. What was she supposed to talk about? The only science she knew was from Mr. Wizard. But then she realized it didn’t matter really what they talked about. Just that they talked.

Kenzi picked at her muffin. “Can’t sleep?”

It took a minute for Lauren to answer and Kenzi watched her think about her response. “Remember Dr. Everett?”

“Yeah, the poor dame that got torn up in Hecuba,” Kenzi replied, her mouth full.

Lauren opened her hands. “This is her research.”

Kenzi looked at the spread of files and papers. “About what?”

Though it looked like there was an immense weight on Lauren‘s features, her back was straight. “The lasting effects of Fae chi on Humans.”

Kenzi thought about it for a second. “It’s early Doc, you gotta forgive me. I didn’t think Bo did that to you.”

“She doesn’t take any.” She put the folder on the counter. “But I think that when she brought me back to life at the lake…” Lauren searched for the right words and she looked at Kenzi. “I think something happened to me.”

“Like you suddenly feel like donning a goalie mask and brandishing a machete?”

“Like I feel different,” Lauren said.

Kenzi sipped her coffee. “Different how?”

She watched Lauren pull out a picture of a bunch of blobs of red with a few dark spots and place it in front of her. Kenzi stared at it and watched Lauren’s finger point. “Those are blood cells. Count is normal, white blood cells good.”

‘’What’s that?” Kenzi pointed at the spots.

“I’m not sure,” Lauren replied. “But it’s not human.”

Kenzi dropped her muffin. “It’s Fae?“

Lauren shrugged. “Dr. Everett’s research isn’t complete, but… yes, I think it is.”

She felt suddenly angry. “Are you seriously telling me you have Fae blood in you?”

“Not Fae blood, Fae--”

“I swear to God, if you turn Fae…”

“I’m not going to turn Fae, Kenzi,” Lauren interrupted with a sigh. “At least I don’t think I am.”

Kenzi felt herself more affected by this news than she thought she would be. Her stomach burned, her heart breaking in a way for her the loss of her new found friend. “But we’re Team Human,” she said, collecting herself in her mug of coffee.

“We still are, Kenzi.” Lauren put a hand on her arm. “I just… I set a Hayra on fire from across the room and then I--”

“You don’t have to finish that sentence.” Kenzi held her hand up, her eyes closing.

“It wasn’t normal, Kenzi.” The stress in her voice surprised Kenzi, a Lauren without control is a volatile subject. “I don’t want to be Fae.” She stopped talking then, staring into the boarded wall behind the kitchen sink. A shuddering breath for air and pained smile and Kenzi could feel the anguish bleeding off her. “To live an extended life doesn’t mean anything without Bo.”

It was this kind of moment that Kenzi learned a little bit more about Lauren Lewis and how difficult it was for her. Kenzi leaned over and put a hand on Lauren’s shoulder. “You’ll get her out,” she said, rubbing Lauren’s back. “I’ll be your backup.”

Lauren smiled. “Actually, I think I have that worked out.”

Kenzi nodded, picking another muffin off the plate. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“What’s it like, being in a relationship with a Fae?” Asking Lauren about Bo gave you about the same reaction as asking her to do an experiment for you. Her eyes got a little brighter and the shy smile was instant. God, she really was adorable. It sort of made Kenzi ill. “And try… not to be too Harlequin with the sentiment,” she added quickly.

Lauren smirked. “It’s… challenging, it’s different, it’s… amazing. But you can’t be worried about what other people think.” She started packing away the folders, piling them neatly. “They’ll talk, sometimes right in front of you and there will always be someone who disapproves.” Kenzi looked up at Lauren when she took her hand. “But if you love him, Kenzi, it won’t matter.”  
__ 

Dawn was coming when Lauren finally lay down to sleep. She had been operating on minimal sleep since the Jubilee. She told herself it was a sort of jet lag after a traumatic experience but the truth was it was yet another one of Lauren’s changes. Sex, violence and insomnia. Lauren didn’t even need to know where to start with that. 

She sighed, laying on Bo’s bed, she began to count the cracks on the ceiling. Bo’s bed. Bo’s couch. She was surrounded by other people’s stuff. Bo’s and to some extent Kenzi’s style was jarring in comparison to her own. Now, laying in Bo’s bed, surrounded by her scent, though she was long gone, Lauren was grateful for their differences. Lauren had become too set in her ways. Too afraid of change to fully embrace the experience of being Bo’s girlfriend and now colleague as well as her ever-present lover. She sighed. She was relieved to have told Kenzi about the Fae chi. And talking to Kenzi had helped, but that didn’t stop Lauren from beginning her evening ritual. The ceiling cracks had been the only thing that had helped Lauren sleep. 

The mindless counting happened in the background as Lauren was also able to think critically about the research she had been studying. Dr. Everett’s work spanned decades and there were so many angles that could be researched within her work that Lauren was almost full of anxiety at all of the possibilities. She was waiting to find the piece that would blow Dr. Everett’s research wide open and give Lauren the deeper understanding she was hoping for.

“One hundred eighteen,” Lauren mouthed.

Her eyes were at the far corner of the room. Her wheels had been turning since she had laid down in the bed and she had reached the last crack. She wadded the pillow beneath her head and pressed her head into the polyester filling. 

“Bo,” was the last thing she said or thought before sleep came.  
__


	5. Chapter 5

__

“Stop,” Kenzi swatted Hale’s hands away from her hips. He had come over with lunch and a mind to help Kenzi relax, but she was playing a little harder to get than he expected. “Lauren’s downstairs and I’m not going to awkward town with her again.”

“C’mon,” Hale urged, kissing her neck.

“I can’t, I’m sorry.” Kenzi took a step back from him. “There’s just too much shit going on around here.”

Hale dropped his hands to his side, resigned. “You’re always gonna be her girl first.”

“Would you get over yourself already?” She shoved him lightly. “Bo is being held captive by the Morrigan and the brains of this Human operation is slowly going crazy.” Kenzi gestured to the door. “She’s been in the basement for ever, I half expect Gollum to crawl out of there any minute now. This is not my happy home!” Kenzi grumbled.

“Okay, okay,” Hale said. “Take it easy.”

“I’m sorry.” She shook her head. “I’ve reached critical mass. I just--I feel so useless.”

Hale ran a finger across her bangs and smiled at her. “You’re not useless, if anything you’re probably the one keeping Lauren from going off the deep end for good.”

“Bo’s the glue in this dollhouse of horrors. Without her it‘s just a crazy Human doctor and me with duct tape trying to do the work of Bo.” Kenzi sighed, dropping onto the couch. 

“Maybe I should go talk to her. Siren her back to sanity.” Hale grinned.

Kenzi looked up at him and grabbed his wrist. “No, no, you don’t want to do that. The last time I went down there, I was there for an hour learning about the differences between nucleotides in Fae and Human DNA.” She shook her head and looked toward the basement door. “Besides, I think Lauren’s the sort of girl who likes to be alone with her crazy.”

Hale looked at the basement door. “Then what can I do, Kenzi?” He sat down next to her on the couch.

“I don‘t know,” she said, putting a hand on his arm. “We need to find someone who can go onto the Morrigan’s private compound without getting killed on sight.”

“I haven’t heard from Vex since the Jubilee,“ Hale said with a sigh. “He’s not returning any of my calls.“

Kenzi looked at him. “He would be my first choice,” she replied. “But I have a much looser cannon in mind.”  
__

Starting to feel stir crazy, Lauren had taken a stack of files and headed for the Dal. She didn’t really know where else to go anymore and thought maybe a change of scenery would help. Instead, Lauren just obsessed about how the picture above the fireplace was off centre.

When Trick stopped in front of her, asking her about a drink, Lauren leapt at the opportunity to pick his brain.

“The Morrigan’s dungeon?” he asked. “I don’t know much, but you’re looking at a near impossible feat.”

Lauren straightened her back and swiped a hand across the bar top. “I know how she thinks.”

“That might get you in the door but I guarantee it’s not going to be what you’re expecting.” Trick polished a wine glass and regarded the doctor seriously.

“You must know something that can help.” She thought he was holding out on her until his face turned grim and he spoke.

“Bad things happen there,” Trick said bowing his head slightly.

Lauren’s stomach turned just as a ruckus at the pool table caught their attention. Trick looked past Lauren to the Dark Fae Tamsin had incapacitated on the floor. She stood above one, her foot resting on his chest and held the other by the scruff of his neck like a proud hunter. 

“Hey!” Trick hollered at the wrestling trio. And then turning to Lauren, he asked: “Could you take her home, please?”

Lauren’s voice was squelched in her throat. Of all the things in the world she didn’t want to do, seeing Tamsin home rated at the bottom. “I--” Trick’s glance questioned her without words. “Sure,” she smiled, “I can do that.”

“Good, because I don’t know how many paying customers she’ll throw in a headlock if she’s left to her own devices.”

She laughed uncomfortably and turned on her stool toward Tamsin and the commotion she was causing. She approached hesitantly, not one to surprise an angry Valkyrie and when she was close enough she raised her voice slightly: “Time to go, Tamsin.”

She looked up from threatening to break another guy’s arm. “I’m busy.”

“I see that you have your hands full but Trick has asked me to take you home.”

Tamsin sneered. “A doctor and a bouncer, now I’ve seen everything.”

“Please stop dislocating that Fae’s shoulder.” Lauren placed a hand on Tamsin’s arm. 

“And what are you gonna do about it, Human?” Tamsin growled.

“I’ll teach you how excruciating a break of your fourth metacarpal bone can be,” Lauren deadpanned. She was in no mood for Tamsin’s insults and even less interested in playing who could hurt who more. “Let’s go.” She pulled on Tamsin’s arm who immediately jerked away, stepping back from the two unsuspecting Fae that had captured Tamsin’s ire.

“Fine,” she said, “But if I see you assholes in here again, I’ll be the one breaking your hands.” Tamsin straightened her blue leather jacket and crossed her arms. “After you.”  
__

There were a few tense moments as they sat in the Camaro at a red light. Tamsin pulled a flask from her jacket and took a sip. “Don’t you ever get tired of being right all the time?” Tamsin nursed the fight bites on her knuckles.

Lauren exhaled. “I’m not always right.”

She scoffed. “You would say that.”

“Look, I’m just doing a friend a favor.”

“I hardly think we’re friends.”

Lauren gripped the steering wheel and willed the red light to turn green. She put her foot to the floor and the Camaro peeled out. Forehead pressed against the passenger window, Tamsin watched the scenery fly by and it wasn’t long before they were pulling into a motel parking lot. Tamsin had remained transient through their adventures and Lauren had to take her to her temporary home once before.

“You coming in?” Tamsin’s fingers tapped the dashboard. 

Lauren looked away. “I should probably go.”

“And do what?” Tamsin challenged “You can’t feel sorry for yourself forever, you know.”

Lauren hesitated. “I--”

Tamsin turned in her seat to face Lauren. “C’mon, you said it yourself: drinking alone is never good.” Lauren closed her eyes and gripped the wheel again as Tamsin climbed out of the car and pounded on the hood as she walked around it. “C’mon.”

She exhaled and stepped out of the Camaro, following Tamsin into a small dark room under the stairs. Tamsin clicked on a lamp. Inside, the paint peeled from the walls, the carpet was stained and the floral pattern on the beds screamed South Florida. Truly, it wasn’t that different from the room she was held captive in with Vex. Lauren paused, calculating the time it took her to go from Vex’s supposed apartment to the motel. Was it the same?

Tamsin stood over the small sitting table and opened a bottle of whiskey, pouring two fingers into a pair of Dixie cups. She passed a drink to Lauren and plopped down on the bed closest to the door. Lauren stood awkwardly in front of the television.

“Down in front,” Tamsin called. 

Lauren circled clumsily before shuffling to the other bed an taking a seat. She sipped the whiskey and looked over at Tamsin who pointed the remote control at the television. A few button presses and she was watching old horror movie from the sixties. A female vampire stalked her victim, an innocent teen is overtaken by the vampire’s gaze. The innocent let her head fall to the side and the inevitable bite that followed brought a smile to the vampire’s face. Tamsin looked over her shoulder at Lauren.

“Look familiar?”

Lauren looked up from the amber liquid in her paper cup. “Why do you have to do that? I was doing the decent thing by driving you home and you are being your usual unpleasant self.”

“I must have missed the gun that Trick held to your head because I know that’s the only reason you are here right now.”

“You know what? You‘re right, I don’t want to be here. But I was cordial to you despite that and you have been nothing but hostile to me since the day we met. And you act like I don’t see the way you look at Bo so if you want to talk about something, let’s talk about that.”

Tamsin looked into her empty paper cup and crumpled it up before throwing into the waste basket. “Shit,” she exhaled.

“Bo has no use for a thousands of years old, washed up, alcoholic Valkyrie with only one life left to live.” Lauren stood. “And if you don’t want to talk about that maybe we should talk about what happened to your life because from here, it’s not looking so good.”

Tamsin nodded. “You see a lot.”

“It’s how I stay alive in Bo’s world.” Lauren sighed.

Tamsin cocked her head to the side and tsk’d, “Now Doctor, you’re making me have feelings.”

“Now I’ve seen everything.”

Tamsin’s lip curled. “All right, meet me back at the Dal in the morning. I think I can get something that will help.”

Morning was only a few hours away so Lauren made a hasty exit. In her wake, Tamsin did not feel remorse or even sadness at what had transpired because she knew that someone who fought for love was not to be trifled. And in Lauren she had found that same relentless pursuit she would’ve expected from the strongest Fae. She didn’t anticipate, however, that Bo’s bond with the human would have reached so deep. Tamsin stood and retrieved another Dixie cup from the bathroom before pouring herself another cup brimming to the top with whiskey and slammed it back.

“If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.“ Tamsin had joined up a long time ago she just hadn’t admitted it to herself until now.  
__

The outside door slammed shut. Lauren boots were hollow on the dirty wood floor scraping as she stepped into the clubhouse.

“Dude, I was so worried,” Kenzi said from the kitchen.

“Sorry, I should have called. Tamsin was feeling chatty.” Lauren took her jacket off and laid it on the back of the chair. 

“If I didn’t know better I would say you’re starting to like hanging out with her.”

“Just a necessary evil, Kenz.”

“Is this because you’re all Fae now?”

“I’m not Fae, you’re overreacting.”

“Am I? Am I?” Kenzi badgered.

“I am still human,” Lauren defended.

“Except you’re not.” The toaster dinged and shot the waffle into Kenzi’s waiting hand. “You know what your problem is, Doc?“ She began to spread peanut butter on the waffle. “It’s like that old saying ‘don’t look the gift horse in the mouth’” she paused and thought about what she had said. “What does that even mean?”

“It means--”

Kenzi held up a hand. “My point is Fae powers are awesome and any human would die for a chance like the one you have right now.”

“It’s not that simple, Kenz.”

“Why not?” she put a hand on her hip.

“Because it’s erasing my humanity,” Lauren exhaled. “I’m becoming one of them.” In that instant she realized how hard is must be for Bo to hold on to her own humanity, even if it ran deeper than most Fae. 

“I get that you like being human, Doc,” Kenzi grumbled, “but you gotta use that shit until you can’t use it anymore and then you can go back to being the boring old doctor we know and love.” Kenzi crunched into her waffle and turned with a flourish. “Think about it,” she said over her shoulder as she retreated to the couch. 

Taking her words to heart, Lauren considered her life with Fae powers. She could finally keep up with Bo in bed and on cases. She was powerful on her own, easily protecting herself, no longer Bo’s damsel to save. It was a true independence day for Lauren.

But for how long?

Lauren sat beside Kenzi on the couch. “What’s this really about?” She looked lost, staring at her waffle. “Kenz?”

And the torrential word storm of twenty thirteen was born. “Hale said-- We can’t-- You’re crazy-- We’re only human-- What am I supposed to do? This,” she motioned at the clubhouse around her, “does not work without Bo.”

“I need her too.”

Kenzi sighed. “What are we gonna do, Doc?”

“We’re going to persevere like our human ancestors,” she started. “Look at all we’ve done. We built the Pyramids and the Eiffel tower, we put a man on the moon and split the atom--” Lauren’s speech was just as much for herself as it was for Kenzi.

“Is this a pep talk or science class?” Kenzi moaned. “Anyway, didn’t aliens build the Pyramids?”

Lauren sighed. “My point being is that we are ingenious creatures, Kenzi. If there’s a way we will find it.”

“And you think that we’re the two smarty pants to unravel the mystery of the universe?” Kenzi questioned.

“It’s not the mystery of the universe, it’s breaking our friend out of Dark Fae Jail.”

“Clearly, you don’t know the difference between a jail and a prison.”

“Kenzi, of course I know the difference.”

Kenzi pointed at her. “You’re thinking about it right now.”

“Kenzi!” she tried to grab the finger pointing in her face. “We will win. We will rescue Bo for all the times that she has rescued us. End of story.”

“You really believe that? With everyone telling you you’re just a silly human and it’s impossible anyways?”

“I believe because they tell me I can’t do it. It’s about defying expectations. Show them your right and hit ‘em with your left.”

Kenzi gasped and pointed at Lauren. “Doc,“ she shook her head and grinned. “You’ve got a plan!”

Lauren smiled. “Are you ready to hear it?  
__

Walking into the Dal, Lauren and Kenzi headed towards the bar, Kenzi for breakfast and Lauren for some information. Tamsin was already sitting at a table, feet on the chair across from her, sipping yet another whiskey. Kenzi skipped to the bar as Lauren made a beeline for the drunken Valkyrie. 

“If it isn’t the intrepid, Doctor,” Tamsin slurred her words slightly. “I got the blueprints.” She patted the rolled up papers on the table beside her. 

“You didn’t drive around like that, did you?”

“Ever heard of a cab, Einstein? Have a seat and take a look at these.”

Tamsin unrolled the plans as Lauren sat across from her.

“Where did you get these from?”

“Never ask where someone gets something that you need. You will always end up regretting you asked in the first place.”

“Can you tell me what the Morrigan plans to do with her?”

“You’ve met the Morrigan, isn’t it obvious? She aims to kill Bo.”

“And where are the guards posted?” Lauren asked, eyes still scouring the blueprints.

Tamsin clapped her hands on the table. “I’ve told you as much as I can. You’re going to have to figure the rest out yourself.”

With that Tamsin stood and retreated to the washrooms. Kenzi slid off her stool, abandoning her breakfast to follow after her. The smaller Human pushed into the bathroom. Crossing her arms, she leaned a shoulder against the wall and waited. When Tamsin left the stall with a clatter, she took a step backward. 

“Can I help you?” Tamsin gritted her teeth.

“That depends. What kind of phony ass game are you playing with Lauren? Are you setting us up?”

Tamsin turned on the tap and began to wash her hands. “If I was do you think I’d tell you?”

“If you were honorable. But we all know that’s a crock.”

“So much hostility from such a little thing. Is this about Bo? Do you have your claws out for you or for the good Doctor?”

“Look, I’m so sorry Lauren got here first and that sucks for you but hanging around pretending to help when you obviously want Bo is not cool.”

“Message received,” Tamsin dried her hands with a paper towel and pushed out the door and looked back. “So many people trying to defend Bo’s honor and nobody is saving her from the Morrigan.”  
__

“Someone took Tony the tiger a little too seriously today.” Tamsin slid into her chair.

Lauren didn‘t look up from the blueprints. “I’m breaking Bo out,” Lauren whispered instinctually and looked around.

Tamsin stared blankly at Lauren for a moment and then she burst into laughter. Only when she was short of breath from laughing did she deign to reply: “You’re serious?”

“Be our backup. I can’t waste another minute knowing she‘s in there. I know what it‘s like to be Evony‘s prisoner.”

Kenzi had approached from the rear and unceremoniously slapped her hand onto the table between Lauren and Tamsin. The pair looked at Kenzi, questioning. “Don’t mean to interrupt the lonely lady lovers club but it’s time to bring my bestie home.”  
__


	6. Chapter 6

__

The engine growled as Lauren opened it up, shifting into fourth gear as she passed a car, speeding towards an uncertain outcome. She had dropped Kenzi at the clubhouse with the plans and now she was rushing headlong to risk everything for Bo. This was a matter of not only repaying the favor but of crazy, stupid love that she would give up everything to have Bo back.

She drove with a measure of that desperation as she careened around the corner a block from the Morrigan’s office building. It was a messy skid, wobbling to a finish as she sped the rest of the way. She pulled into the parking garage and tucked the Camaro in to a corner spot by the elevator. 

Lauren took a breath. This was where she’d give herself a pep talk like the one she gave Kenzi but at that moment she was full of confidence. A fragile confidence, but she would take it. Heels clicking, she approached the elevator.   
__

The elevator dinged and Lauren took a breath as she exited the car. The lights were dimmed but building security had told her Evony was still in the building. She took the corner to the Morrigan’s office swiftly and found her desk empty. Lauren shuffled through the papers on the desk, looking for any clue to where she could be holding Bo. 

“You’re not going to find what you’re looking for there.” Evony slid into the jacket her bodyguard held up for her. 

“I need to see her.” Lauren stepped away from the desk, wringing her hands. 

Evony slipped into a pair of leather gloves. “I thought we went through this the last time you were here?”

“I thought you might reconsider,” Lauren pressed, growing a little desperate.

She cocked her head to the side and smiled. “It’s your lucky day, Doctor.” The Morrigan walked toward the elevator. “Come along.”  
__

Lauren sat uncomfortably across from Evony in the back of her limousine. The Morrigan filed her nails which Lauren found unnerving. It was much like a cat sharpening its claws and Lauren wondered to what end?

“Your devotion is touching,” the Morrigan said finally ending the silent standoff the women had going.

“Don’t see a lot of that in your business?”

“Mmm, more than you’d expect. But your predicament is that much more delicious.” Evony grinned as Lauren looked away.

She looked out the window at the passing trees and fields. “Bo would do anything for me,” she said.

“Oh for heaven’s sake.” Evony rolled her eyes. “You two are worse than The Bridges of Madison County.”

She was laughing at her again. At them. But with every insult, Lauren felt herself grow more confident in her mission. “You think it only happens in books and movies. But it doesn’t.” She looked at the Morrigan, her heart pounding so hard Lauren could swear she could hear it. “It’s real.”

The flinch was nearly undetectable, but Lauren saw Evony’s eyes falter for half a second. She’d won this round. The silence that followed drown out everything of importance and Lauren wondered just what her mouth had gotten herself into this time. The limo slowed and stopped in front of a stone building. It looked modern enough to pass amidst sky scrapers but Lauren knew it hid many secrets. 

The door opened and Evony exited gracefully in front of Lauren, who climbed out behind her. She smoothed the wrinkles from her slacks and followed Evony into the building. The Ogres that guarded the Dark Fae leader were falling all over themselves to open doors for Evony as she lead the way to the elevator. The Ogre swiped a keycard and turned a key before tapping the ‘B’ button as the doors slid shut. Lauren had either walked into the Morrigan’s clutches or ingeniously placed herself in harm’s way, six of one, half a dozen of another.

When the doors opened the first thing she noticed was the darkness. It really was a dungeon. And when she stepped out of the car, the crackle beneath her feet alerted her to the change in foundation. Without looking down she could tell what it was. Dirt. Damp and ruddy. The cells were around the corner. Floor to ceiling iron bars, two bunks a sink and a toilet. Life simply boiled down. Her eyes scanned the dimly lit cells for Bo, who leaned up on an elbow. Lauren gripped the bars and called for her, “Bo?”

At the sound of her voice and her scent in the air, Bo stood. “Lauren?”

Lauren saw a flash of blue in the darkness. “Are you okay?” She turned to Evony. “Open this door,” she commanded, her voice trembling with strain. 

“She‘s fine, see for yourself.” The Morrigan gestured to the Ogre. “Open the door,” she ordered. Evony sighed as the Ogre fumbled with the keys. He found the cell key quickly and slid it into the lock. The cell door retracted. Lauren stepped inside and reached for Bo. “Let me look at you.” The Doctor’s eyes scanned her body for injury. She was dirty but unhurt. Bo’s eyes rippled blue again. Her stomach may as well have rumbled, because Lauren knew that look all too well.

Lauren turned around to face the Morrigan again. “She’s hungry.” 

“You don’t expect me to supply her with victims, do you?”

“I expect you to feed her.”

Evony smiled cordially, tilting her head to the side before sliding the cell shut. “Well, look who’s lunch.” 

“What are you doing?” Lauren lurched toward the bars that separated her from the Morrigan.

“Who am I to stand in the way of true love?” Evony grinned at the couple. “You can die together.” The Morrigan laughed again, tossing her hair over her shoulder and retreating around the corner. When the elevator had dinged and the doors had closed once again, Lauren spun around and smiled at Bo.

“Your face,” Bo reached out for Lauren, whose black eye was more green than purple and the cuts on her face were scabbed over.

Lauren lifted her hand and covered the cuts on her cheek with her palm. She shook her head. “It’s fine. I’m fine.”

Bo couldn‘t help the smile that spread across her face even as she shook her head and said: “Lauren, what are you doing here?” 

“It’s all part of the plan,” Lauren said confidently.  
__

Kenzi stirred the liquid in the pan and watched it thicken. She felt like a mad scientist, stirring a concoction with goggles and gloves on in the basement of their run down shack. But it was up to her now. She was going to be there for Bo and Lauren, for all the marbles. 

She heard the steps creak as Hale approach from behind her. Wrapping his arms around Kenzi, his eyes widened as he looked over her shoulder.

“What the hell are you doing?” Hale said.

“Party favors?” Kenzi smiled as she stirred.

“What kind of party calls for cherry bombs?”

“They’re not cherry bombs, Hale,” she said. “They’re smoke bombs.” She switched off the burner and lifted the pan over to the small array of baby food jars she’d collected in the last two days. 

“Okay, why do you need smoke bombs?” He leaned against the table next to her. “What are you up to?”

“Oh you know,” Kenzi shrugged. “A little bit of this, a little bit of that…” She filled a jar halfway and moved on to the next. “A little bit of saving my girls from the depths of the Morrigan’s dungeon.”

“You’re what?” He was never that surprised by what Kenzi got up to, but this was a new level, even for her. “Kenzi.” He stopped her hand and she dropped a bit of the mixture on the counter.

“Hale! Jesus!” Kenzi put the pan down and wiped up for drops. “The last thing I need is to smoke us out.”

Hale took a frustrated step back and paced behind her. “How are you getting in? How are you getting out?”

“I’ve got a man on the inside,” Kenzi answered matter-of-factly.

Hale stopped. “What?”

“Oh relax, he’s just helping me get past security.” Kenzi put the pan down and pulled off her goggles and gloves. She grabbed a hammer and nail and started poking holes through the jar lids.

“I should go with you.”

Kenzi turned around. “No.” She held a hand out. “You were right about us, Hale. We can’t hide. And I’m going to tell Bo as soon as I see her.”

“Kenzi…”

At his dejected expression, Kenzi put the tools down and walked over to him. “I know you want to protect me,” she said. Hale looked at the floor and Kenzi lifted his chin. On her toes, she kissed him softly. “I’ll be fine.”  
__

“What are you doing?” Bo questioned from the bunk a few feet away.

“I’m getting you out of here.” She reached around the bars with a lock pick.

“I appreciate the sentiment but let’s be real here.” 

Lauren rolled her eyes as the pick scraped the inside the lock. “Doesn‘t get much more real than this.” The lock clicked and Lauren pulled back the door to the cell.

“Hey Blondie, open mine next.” Vex said through the bars. 

Lauren ignored him and pulled Bo to her feet. They stepped out of the cell. Bo walked toward the elevator but Lauren went the opposite direction. “C’mon,” Lauren whispered.

“Open my door or I’ll scream.” Vex crossed his arms and leaned against the bars.

“Where are you going?” Bo chased after Lauren.

“There are a series of tunnels and one of them has a way out.” They walked deeper, past other prisoners locked away in similar cells until the cave narrowed.

Bo looked back, skeptical. “Wouldn’t going out the front door be easier?”

“Fine! Suit yourself! Guards! Guards!” Vex yelled from his cell at the mouth of the caves.

“Trust me, that’s not an option.” She pressed on.

“How are we going to find our way out?”

“Left, right, right, left, right.” Lauren smiled smugly over her shoulder.

The walls were surprisingly smooth and the tunnel was narrow. Bo trailed a hand along the walls feeling the history in the stone, Lauren reached back and took her other hand as the tunnel grew impossibly dark. They slowed their pace, walking carefully instead and took another left.

“Lauren?” Bo’s voice sounded in the darkness.

“Yeah?” Her feet crunched on the dirt floor.

“I’m glad you’re here.” 

She could tell Bo was smiling as she spoke and found herself smiling, too. “Owed you one.” Lauren squeezed her hand. “C’mon, I can see some light.” Starting to jog she took the last right and ran toward the light. 

When she threw back the cellar door they were blinded by daylight. And as they climbed up to street level, the sound of ten guns cocking filled the alley. When their eyes adjusted they were surrounded by the Morrigan’s militia. 

They looked at each other. “Shit.”  
__

As soon as the elevator dinged, they heard Vex talking to himself. Having been left alone in the dungeon for long enough before that he’d developed coping skill like those at work now. When he saw the guards lead Bo and Lauren back to their cell he began to laugh.

“Well, look who’s home! Ladies! Welcome back.” Vex twirled in his cell.

Bo dragged her feet until the guard pushed her hard and she stumbled into the cell. Once again, Lauren voluntarily stepped into the cell that held Bo. She turned around as the bars were closing them in once again. When the elevator dinged, the guards were gone again.

“Well, that was fun,” Bo said, sitting on the bottom bunk.

Lauren settled on the cot beside Bo and rest her head on Bo’s shoulder. “It’s going to be alright.”

The elevator dinged again and like Pavlov’s dogs, the trio of prisoners looked toward the sound. As if on cue, Evony rounded the corner. “Isn’t that sweet.” She looked at Lauren who immediately lifted her head from Bo’s shoulder. “I heard about your little stunt,” the Morrigan gritted her teeth. “My guards tell me they have confiscated your lock pick amongst other things and I trust that you’ve learned your lesson. There is no escape. This is the last stop for you both.”

“Good news Evony, spreading her cheery message from sea to shining sea,” Bo said sarcastically.

“Make all the jokes you want. For your impudence, you should know that it will cost you.” She looked at Lauren. “I was going to spare you. Keep you around for a little while until I got tired of you.” Evony paced outside the cell. “But I think I will take her life first,” she pointed to Lauren. “And you will have to watch your lover die before I extinguish your infernal chi.” She lingered a long time on that thought before turning away. “See you soon.”  
__

“Why you insist on hanging around here like someone invited you over is beyond me.” Kenzi lifted Tamsin’s foot from the coffee table and retrieved the Cosmo she was flattening with her heels.

“Because it drives you crazy,” she drank whiskey from a plastic cup.

“You know what else?” She grabbed the cup from Tamsin. “Stop drinking our booze!” Tamsin scowled at her. “What are you even doing here?” Kenzi put a hand on her side and harrumphed.

“There is the small matter of freeing Bo and her lady love, Dr. Quinn.” She smirked.

“That’s where you’re wrong. I got this under control. That’s right, Kenzi has this wrapped up.” Kenzi puffed her chest up and took a sip from the stolen plastic cup. 

“Trust me, you don’t.”

“I’ve got smoke bombs, swords, and knives plus ingenuity, street smarts and kick ass boots.” Kenzi looked impressed with herself.

“And what if the Morrigan goes for you, Human?” Kenzi stopped. Her head dropped momentarily before she brought her eyes to meet Tamsin’s. She stood, brushing imaginary lint from her jeans. “Guess I’ll be going then.”

Kenzi skittered after her. “Look, maybe I was a little hasty.”

Tamsin turned to face Kenzi, taking the plastic cup brimming with whiskey from her. “Can we then agree that as long as I’m helping you, your liquor is my liquor?” 

Kenzi exhaled. “Bobo, give me strength.” She looked at the ceiling and then her eyes dropped to meet Tamsin’s. “Do your worst.”  
__


	7. Chapter 7

__

“So I guess we need a Plan B.” Bo sat on the bunk and sighed. 

Lauren reached under the cot. “I‘ve taken care of that,” she said calmly.

“Of course there’s a Plan B.” Bo shifted uncomfortably in the harness. “Plan B should be getting this thing off my back.” She pulled at the cord on her shoulder.

She stood and, turning her around, Lauren trailed a finger along the cable to the center of her back. “I could,” she paused, “but it’s going to hurt.”

“I don‘t care just get it off of me.”

Lauren nodded slowly, taking Bo’s hand in hers. The smile on Bo’s face comforted her before the agony contorted her features as Lauren wrenched her arm behind her back.

“Ow! What the hell--”

Vex sprang to his feet and shuffled to the bars.

“I’m sorry,“ Lauren apologized before she increased the pressure.

A loud pop filled the dungeon, Bo’s eyes fluttered shut. Guiding the cable down Bo’s arm, Lauren freed her from the restraint. Bo’s arm hung limp at her side, her face contorting in pain. Lauren held her shoulders as she swayed and her eyes opened once again. Bo frowned at her and looked to her dislocated shoulder.

Bo grunted. “Where did you even learn how to do that?

“I’m a doctor.”

“So are you going to fix me, or what?” Bo grumbled.

“In a minute.” 

“In a minute?” Bo was beside herself in disbelief and excruciating pain. She leaned against the bars. “You are on my list.” Bo closed her eyes in concentration, waiting for it to numb. “What are you doing?”

“Gem swap.” Lauren reached into her discarded boot and pulled a sparkling black gem that looked similar to the one set in the back of the cable harness she had been wearing. “It’s the equal and opposite of the gem set in the harness. As twin stones they can be easily mistaken for one another and therefore perfect for our mission here.” Lauren lifted a pair of jeweler’s pliers from her pocket, sitting on the cot she set about loosening the stone’s setting. This would work. This had to work. She was in Evony’s head now. She knew her thought process and she was going to manipulate her at every turn.

“Mission? You’re sounding awfully cloak and dagger, Doctor Lewis.”

“I came here to break you out and that’s what I’m going to do.”

Bo smiled despite the throbbing in her shoulder. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

Lauren carefully considered the answer while she put the gem back in place and got to her feet. “I’m sure there’s something.” She smirked and took Bo’s hand, threading it and each arm through the refurbished harness. When she was satisfied with its appearance, Lauren looked at Bo. “Now, on the floor, on your back.”

“Excuse me? Have you seen the floor?” Bo tried to cross her arms but her arm still hung lifeless at her side. She looked at it again and then to Lauren. She shook her head.

“Fine, get on the cot.” Lauren slid her foot out of her boot and waited for Bo to get situated. Vex’s heavy breathing was cause for some concern but Lauren was banking on human decency lest she end up in a scene from Silence of the Lambs. She pulled Bo’s arm to the side and pressed her foot into her armpit. Pulling backwards hard, Lauren begin to feel the bone slide back in its socket.

Bo spoke through gritted teeth, “Its not that I don’t love this new bedside manner or yours, I’m just a little concerned at the how long this is taking.”

“Just a second longer--” She felt the socket accept the bone. “There.” Bo exhaled audibly. “I’ll warn you next time.”

“Next time?”

Bo looked at Lauren with a new respect but Lauren didn’t linger, instead she finally looked in the direction of the huffing and puffing she‘d been hearing for the last ten minutes. She found Vex gripping the bars between the cells and pressing his face in the gap. “Do me next.”

“On what planet has that line ever worked for you, Major Tom?” Bo blurted.

Lauren ignored the Mesmer and returned to examining Bo. “It’s been days since you last fed.”

Bo shook her off. “I’m fine.”

“We need you juiced up if we’re going to make it out of here.” Lauren looked down and then up meeting Bo’s brilliantly blue eyes. “Take my chi, Bo, you need your strength.” Lauren squeezed Bo’s shoulder and she jumped. “And that isn’t going to get better in twenty-four hours. Bo,” she urged, “I can take it.”

The buckles on Vex’s clothes jangled as he jumped in the air and giggled. “Do it!” He pressed his face between the bars.

Without a word of warning Bo was backing her against the bars, squeezing her hips as their mouths clashed. Lauren steeled herself for the inevitable drain but the kiss was soft and insistent leaving her wanting more. It was not a kiss by which Bo could feed, bewitched as she may feel. It was, however, a kiss that got her close enough to Vex so when she pulled away from Lauren, she could reach for him and quiet his cat calls by drawing his chi in a long breath. When she was fully recharged she pulled away and Vex flailed his arms as he backed away from her.

“You’ve stolen my essence!”

“Get over yourself.” Bo rolled her shoulder to test it for pain. She looked at Lauren who was still flushed from their kiss. “Good as new. Now what?”

Vex slumped on his cot, holding his head. “What did you do to me, bloody Succubus?”

“I made a withdrawal from the bank of Vex,” Bo turned to face his cell. “This is for all those times you ate my chips, leered at my girlfriend, used my television to watch reality TV and/or were inappropriate in any way to me or my humans.”

He closed his eyes. “Bloody hell.”   
__

Tamsin grimaced. Helping humans left such a bad taste in her mouth. She took a drink from the scotch in her hand. Re-crossing her legs Tamsin dropped her heels onto the adjacent chair. She poked the ice cube in her scotch and sucked on her fingertip. Her eyes trailed from her drink to the blue prints across the table. When had she become such a traitor to her kind? How had a full-blown crush turned into human-loving? 

Dyson sat across from her. “Partner,” Dyson drawled.

“Is this a life or death matter?” Tamsin dropped the empty tumbler onto the table and looked toward the bar, plotting her next drink. 

“If obtaining the biggest hoagies for lunch is death, and I think it is,” Dyson nodded and played with the twine the dungeon plans were tied with. 

“Watch it, Cowboy.” Tamsin pulled the blueprints away from his grasp.

“I’m your partner.” He crossed his arms across his chest.

“Not gonna work.” She mimicked him, crossing her arms. “That’s Dark Fae business and--”

“And Kenzi and Lauren know about this business.”

“In a manner of speaking.”

“I think you’re helping them with the Bo situation.”

“The Bo situation? Don’t put your shit on me, man. Just because you’re too chicken to go toe to toe with the Morrigan, don’t make me the bad guy for helping them out.”

“I’m forbidden.”

“Because the Dark would be a-ok with me helping two humans free their unaligned owner. Sometimes you gotta break the rules, pal.”

“Hale needs me to not cause a civil war over Bo.” He thought for a moment. “And Bo needs to find her way without me.”

Tamsin made a face. “Whatever keeps you warm at night, big guy.” She grabbed the plans from the table and pushed herself to her feet. “Duty calls.”  
__

“Oh, will you bloody sit down,” Vex called from his bunk. “You’re driving me mad.”

Lauren was pacing. She had been circling her cage like an animal since they were returned hours ago. 

Bo leaned up on her elbow. “I hate to agree with the guy, but he’s got a point.” She patted the spot in front of her. “Come lie with me.”

Lauren stopped and considered the spot beside Bo. Silently, she acquiesced, sitting back against her before allowing herself to relax. Bo’s hand on her hip, reminded her of laying in her much more comfortable bed. She sighed. There was no Plan C. This was it. Lauren needed this. She needed to prove to every doubting Fae that humans, particularly Lauren, were forces to be reckoned with. And she needed to save Bo, if only once. It was selfish, she knew, but she needed to prove it to herself too. That she was enough to live in Bo’s world. 

Bo’s hand was in her hair, brushing it away from her ear and neck. Lauren shivered. She was finally able to pin down the smell off the dungeon and it made her stomach turn. “We’re gonna get out of here,” Bo whispered and Lauren wanted to believe her--so much--but the smell of blood in the air left her feeling a bit less certain than her partner.   
__

The clubhouse was quiet and Kenzi had tried everything to block out its empty sound. Infomercials--a favorite pastime of Kenzi’s--gave her no relief and music made her ears ring. Kicking back on the sofa, she flipped through a magazine. Her phone rattled on the table, buzzing repeatedly. She reached out for the telephone, pressing a button. 

A voice on the other end of the phone spoke: “It’s happening.” 

Kenzi sat up abruptly. “Shit. I’ll be right there.” She pressed a button on her cell phone and stood, bounding toward Lauren’s lab. She slung a bag across her shoulder and descended the stairs. Pulling the chain attached to a light bulb on the landing, she illuminated the small space. She worked quickly, lifting the small jars carefully from the work bench and placing them into her bag. She took the stairs two at a time, striding towards her bedroom. It was a mess, she always had good intentions to clean it but somehow it always looked like a clothing factory minus the hangers and a cosmetic booth in a department store minus the organization. She threw back the piles of clothes, rummaging around until she found what she was looking for. Kenzi took three strides to the door and, gripping the door’s trim as she spun around the corner. “Ready or not, here comes Kenzi.”  
__

Bo shot up off the cot as the elevator dinged heralding the arrival of Evony and a handful of guards--that, they were expecting--the last figure around the corner, however, was a surprise.

“Tamsin,” Bo said at the sight of the traitor. Why she was surprised was a mystery. She had betrayed the Dark to help Bo before and payback, as they say, is a bitch.

Lauren’s eyes narrowed at the sight of Tamsin who stood before them, hand on her holstered gun.

“You remember Tamsin,” Evony smiled mischievously. “She’s agreed to be the one to end your little love story.” She waved a hand at the burliest guard who took the cue and unlocked the cell. “Time to die.”

They filed out of the cell, the guard’s thick hand shoved them forward as the other guards flanked them. Marching deeper into the prison, Lauren felt the familiar twist in her gut. One that said she wasn’t good enough. That her plan was doomed to fail. And, ultimately, because of her they were going to die. 

Evony hummed a happy tune as they descended into the unknown. As the caverns grew darker, the guards paused to switch on their lanterns before continuing. It was an another agonizing five minutes before they would reach their destination.

It was a dead end.

Lauren made a mind map of their trek into the bowels of Evony’s prison. They had tried to confuse them by doubling back and circling around but Lauren was wise to their tricks. 

“Tonight there will be no gladiator fights, nor rescue from your gang of misfits. No, tonight you will die swiftly by your own friend’s hand.”

Tamsin drew her weapon, stopping to check the chamber and unfastening the safety.

“Tamsin, you don’t have to do this,” Bo spoke, even and measured.

“I’ve wanted to do this since the first moment I laid eyes on you,” the Morrigan said to Bo. “But first, your lady love. Pain in my ass, destroyer of my Jubilee.” She turned to Lauren. “You get the first bullet.”

When Lauren was pushed against the wall at the end of the corridor, Bo remained a few feet away. Lauren could tell by the look in her eyes that she was on the verge of a Succubus meltdown. Tamsin lifted her gun and trained it on her. 

“Goodbye, Doctor,” Evony smiled at her cruelly. 

“Put me down!” a voice screeched from nearby.

“Take it easy,” a deeper voice commanded.

Tamsin withdrew her weapon and held it at her side. 

“Go see what’s going on.” Evony motioned to a pair of guards. She smiled at Lauren. “The suspense is killing me.”

“Let me go!” the female voice shouted again. 

When Bruce rounded the corner carrying Kenzi it all became clear. He set Kenzi on the ground, his huge hand holding her shoulder. “I caught her trying to break in.”

“And I would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for you meddling kids.” Kenzi said ironically. “And by kids I mean the steroid jockeys that you have guarding this palace of blood.”

“If it isn’t the human that brought a barnyard animal to my Jubilee. In ancient times, Fae were buried with their slaves. It seems only fitting that your humans share your fate.” She turned to Tamsin. “Carry on.”

Kenzi struggled as Bruce held her loosely. Tamsin lifted her gun and focused on Lauren. Lauren’s eyes slipped shut and it was in that moment that Bo completely lost it. She threw two elbows. Her guards were doubled over in pain as Bo lifted one of their faces to meet hers, and with vibrant blue eyes stared at him as she inhaled his chi. Bo was the one doubling over after inhaling the black smoke that filtered from his mouth.

The Morrigan laughed. “Naughty Succubus! They’re wearing amulets for protection.”

With everyone’s eyes staring at the scene unfolding in front of Tamsin, Kenzi reached into her bag and, falling back behind Bruce, lit the fuse on a pair of smoke bombs. She slid the lighter back into her pocket before hurling the smoke bombs at the floor, releasing pandemonium. With no real outlet, the cave filled quickly with smoke. Under cover, Kenzi worked quickly, extending a collapsible baton, she started swinging. She swung the baton without prejudice, taking the giant guards out at the knees before swinging for the fences and breaking the arm of the Ogre that held Bo.

The Morrigan shrieked, before coughing out an order to her downed guards. And then the sound of a gunshot filled the cave which set about a new wave of panic. 

“Lauren!” Bo called, her feet suddenly surrounded by the Morrigan‘s guards.

As the smoke begin to clear, Tamsin felt a tap on her shoulder. When she turned around the gun was knocked from her hand and a flash of blonde hair was all she saw before a left hook connected with her eye. Tamsin doubled over, holding her face. 

Lauren tripped over a body on her way to the door and when she stood again, Evony was reaching for her. “Somehow, I knew it would come to this.”

But it was Bo’s lips who covered Evony’s mouth then as she stepped between them. Watching Bo feed was always a wonder for Lauren and tonight was no different as she fed for a different reason: to weaken her foe. As Evony slid down her leg to the cave floor, she began to laugh.

“Oh honey, you simply must join the Dark,” she said breathlessly.

Bo stood over the Morrigan. “Not a chance in hell, lady.“ She looked down on Evony for the second time in their short acquaintance. “Are we good?” she asked not really caring what the answer would be.

“Not even remotely.”

“Until we meet again,” Bo said sarcastically, gathering Lauren up and pushing forward into the cave with Kenzi. They could hear Evony laughing echoing through the tunnels. It was a disorienting measure she probably hadn’t intended but it served to confuse. Though the Morrigan’s laugh seemed closer at some turns, Lauren kept to her mind map and trudged back toward the elevator.

“Well, if it isn’t the death defying Succubus, her sidekick, and the naughty doctor! ” Vex said with much fanfare as they approached the cell. “Whose face did you suck to get out of this mess?”

“I went right to the top,” Bo bragged. “And she never saw it coming.”

Vex gripped the bars. “Let me out.”

“And release the Morrigan’s favorite pet? I wouldn’t want to get on her bad side.” Bo smiled and turned away from the imprisoned Mesmer. Turning the corner, they approached the elevator. Kenzi dug a hand into her pocket and retrieved a stolen keycard. “Time to get out of Ogreville.” She swiped the card and the doors opened.

Lauren had successfully led them from the depths of the dungeon and up to street level. The elevator dinged and the women filed out. The building was deserted, the last guards having met a painful fate at Kenzi’s hands. But when they did come to they were going to be finding it hard to leave the basement without a keycard. Bo’s footsteps quickened when she found herself inhaling the cold November air. Freedom smelled like exhaust and motor oil, of dust and scorched rubber. 

“Where’s the Camaro?” Bo asked, looking around.

Lauren made a face. “Parked at the Morrigan’s.”

“So much for a flawless getaway,“ Bo sighed.

Kenzi pointed at the Morrigan’s limo parked a short distance away. “Look,” she called approaching the parking garage. The women walked to the structure, Kenzi skittering up to the Morrigan’s limo. She reached for the door handle and it snapped back, not budging. 

Kenzi looked at Lauren and Lauren looked at Bo. Kenzi reached into her bag of anarchy and removed a slim jim. “Why the long faces?” She slid the metal implement into the door and popped the lock. The door opened.

She sat in the drivers seat and reached underneath the dash, exposing a mass of wires. Kenzi worked quickly, stripping the wires before twisting them off and sparking ignition. She pressed the gas pedal with her foot to ensure it didn’t stall out. 

“I could kiss you.” Lauren said a few feet away.

“Easy Doc.” Kenzi rolled the window down and pulled the door shut. “Your chariot awaits.”

Bo led Lauren around the back and opened the door for her. She climbed in first, Bo following close behind. As the door shut the limo’s wheels squealed and the car lurched forward. The women fell back against the leather seats awkwardly. The divider window rolled down. “Hands above the equator,“ Kenzi smiled over her shoulder. The engine purred, navigating through the parking structure. As they approached the exit a metal curtain began to roll down in front of them.

“Kenzi!” Bo and Lauren called in unison.

Her head flipped around and she gripped the steering wheel. The limo’s tires smoked the pavement, the curtain closing them in fast. She drove, pedal to the floor, up the ramp, toward the streetlights.

And when things looked their most impossible, Kenzi screamed toward freedom. The sound of scraping metal made them cringe as they cleared the collapsing curtain, sparks flying from the underside of the limo as it bottomed out onto the street.

Bo pushed up on the roof of the limo, steadying herself as she turned to face Lauren. She leaned into the leather seat, her blonde hair obscuring the bruise on her cheek. When Bo reached a finger out to brush the hair away, their eyes met and a smile played on her lips. This was their time. Victory was palpable as they sped towards home. A home she never thought would stick, with a friend and a lover so unlikely that all Bo could do was thank Fae that her humanity was so well insulated by the humans that kept her grounded.  
__


	8. Chapter 8

__

The door to the clubhouse creaked as Kenzi pushed it open. Bo followed her and Lauren through the door and she smiled. “It’s good to be home,” she said.

The sound of their footsteps echoed in the empty clubhouse. There were months old magazines on the side table, an empty refrigerator and unmade beds but it was theirs. At least they figured they had been squatting long enough to have a case for grandfather rights to the property. 

Lauren walked into the kitchen, opening a cabinet. A few well placed steps and she was scooping ice into the bucket she had just retrieved. Bo lifted her sword from the wooden studs by the hallway and made a beeline for the bottle of vodka sitting on the couch on its side. Swooping it up, she unscrewed the top and took a long drink. Her eyes fell closed as she pulled the bottle away from her lips, savoring. 

As she settled onto a stool, Lauren’s potent gaze fell on Bo. Captivated, she watched her from the edge of the kitchen. Lauren was finally tired and achy and needed to sleep it off, but her mind was wide awake. Wide awake and consumed by Bo. She knew this overpowering attachment was unhealthy, borne of the Fae brimming inside of her. Her love for Bo had exploded into a supernova of white hot intensity and Dr. Lauren Lewis fell prey to the Fae all over again.

Lauren plunged her hand into the ice bucket and hissed softly. She shook her head. Bo dragged a hand along the back of the couch as she walked toward the table. Wrapping an arm around Lauren’s shoulders, Bo laid the sword across the table before settling beside her. The bottle of vodka sloshed as Bo offered it to the humans.

Kenzi opened the cupboard and retrieved three mismatched cups. She dropped Oscar the Grouch in front of Lauren, Fred Flintstone in front of Bo and kept Scooby Doo for herself.

“I have no idea how you planned that insane escape,” Bo smiled as she filled their cups, “but I am so proud of you both.”

Kenzi raised Scooby in the air. “Team Human in the house,” Kenzi said braggadociously. Vodka splashed onto the table as they tapped their cups together.

Bo put a hand on her sword as a knock sounded at the clubhouse door. Kenzi jumped up. “Sit, sit, sit. I’ll get it.” She swung around the corner to the entryway hand on the exposed stud. A few skips later and Kenzi was throwing open the big wooden door. Her face dropped. “No, no way, uh-uh.”

Tamsin sighed, her right eye shining a brilliant purple. “I need to see them.”

“And just why should I let you in?“

“Besides the fact that I could break you over my knee?“ Tamsin sighed and lifted a bottle of whiskey. “I brought you this.”

Kenzi stared at the offering seriously. “And you’re not going to shoot anybody?“

She held up a hand. “Promise.“

Kenzi stepped aside, relenting to the Valkyrie. “Incoming asshole!” She called.

Bo’s hand drummed the grip of her sword as she sipped her drink. “Well, you’ve got balls, I’ll give you that.”

“Just returning these.” Tamsin slinked across the room, dropping Bo’s thigh holster and dagger onto the table between them. Her car keys followed.

“Still doing the Morrigan’s errands?” Lauren looked across the table at Tamsin, her hand sloshing in a bucket of ice.

Tamsin narrowed her eyes. “How’s your hand?”

“How’s your face?” Lauren’s expression did not change. Kenzi and Bo exchanged a look of surprise and confusion.

“I deserve that,” Tamsin said and sighed. “Okay, listen up, because I‘m not any good at this.” She looked at the ceiling. “I didn’t know the Morrigan was going to make me… you know. But I thought if I was the one, then…” She rolled her eyes at herself, frustrated at her sudden discomfort. “Maybe I could give you guys a chance.”

Kenzi crossed her arms over her chest. “Is that awkward Valkyrie for ‘I’m sorry?’”

A moment of uncomfortable silence followed until Tamsin raised her eyebrows. “Well, I’d love to crash this epic party, but…” She placed the whiskey on the table next to Bo’s things. “I’ve got a pile of paperwork to do. I’ll see you around.”

Kenzi followed her to the door and smiled politely as she shut the door with a little extra effort. She walked back to the table, slowing her last few steps. “Speaking of, I have something I need to get to,” she said, her thumb pointing over her shoulder to the door.

“What?” Bo said. “Where could you possibly need to go?”

Kenzi swallowed and looked at Lauren, who’s lips curled into a smile. “Yeah Kenzi,” she said. “Why don’t you tell Bo where you’re going?”

Bo frowned at Lauren who lifted her eyebrows as she drained the rest of her drink with her free hand. “What’s going on?”

“Uh…” Kenzi took a couple steps toward Bo. “I’ve sort of been meaning to tell you about this, thing… with Hale.”

Bo straightened on the stool. “What about him?” she asked. “Is he okay?”

“He’s fine, he’s…” Kenzi wrung her hands and looked over at Lauren who was filling her glass. “A little help, Doc?”

Lauren shook her head as she put the bottle back down and picked up her glass. “I don’t think so,” she said, sipping the drink. Setting the glass down, Lauren pushed herself away from the island, watching Kenzi locked in an uncomfortable conversation with her best friend. This was the best time to slip out unnoticed. Lauren stepped quietly to the door and pushed it open. The air was cool and crisp and Lauren shivered when she leaned out the front door. It felt like it was about to snow.

“Tamsin?” 

Tamsin stopped, but didn‘t turn. There was a second when Lauren wasn‘t sure if she‘d just keep walking, but her sigh hovered over her head. “Look, I‘m sorry,“ she spun around. “I didn‘t mean to break up your little party.”

Lauren shook her head and stepped out the door, letting it close behind her. “No, it’s fine.” Her arms crossed in front of her chest, holding them tight against her body. “I’m sorry,” she said. Tamsin watched her descend the stairs. “For hitting you.” 

Tamsin touched her cheek instinctively. “If I didn’t know better I’d say I taught you to swing like that,” she said. “Do you ever feel the Valkyrie inside of you stabbing at your insides to get out?”

If someone had asked Lauren to describe her agitation, she would have described it as Tamsin had. A shiver ran through her, this time to her bones. She swallowed. “Yes.”

Tamsin smiled wickedly, an air of self-satisfaction surrounded her. She had gotten under Lauren’s skin. “You know what happened now,” she whispered.

Lauren cocked her head and looked accusingly at Tamsin. “You knew? How did you see the research?”

Tamsin laughed. “Do I look like I follow medical research?” She regarded Lauren seriously. “Bo’s not the only succubus on Earth, you know.” She frowned and thought for a moment. “She might be the nicest, though.”

“You’ve seen this before?”

“Sort of.” Tamsin looked up at the sky, watching her breath disappear into the darkness. “I was always told never to give my chi to anyone. Valkyries are too rare, too powerful.”

“So why’d you do it?”

Tamsin looked at Lauren, shivering, but determined. “You saw the way I looked at Bo,” she said. “I hope you can see the way she looks at you.”

Lauren looked at the ground, embarrassed that it was so easy to see and ashamed she’d never thought about it that way. She kicked at a small stone. “Thanks for not shooting me.”

“And have Bo hunt me high and low for the rest of her life?” Lauren smirked and looked up at Tamsin again who shared an uncomfortable smile. It was a rarity indeed to see Tamsin so docile. Seeing her now, in the dim street light, she looked almost human. “You don’t have to worry about me,” she said, breaking the silence. “With Bo.”

Lauren tried to nod her thanks, but found herself frozen in shock. Had a Valkyrie really conceded to a human? “Thank you,” she said. It wasn’t the most perfect choice of words, but at least it wasn’t a lie. The breeze picked up in the silence and Lauren thought she’d seen a snowflake fall, but as her eyes fell on Tamsin, the Valkyrie’s gaze shifted from inquisitive to suspicious.

“You haven’t told Bo.”

“There hasn‘t been time.” The answer was immediate and it felt practiced. It made her ill.

Tamsin laughed at her. “You’re serious? You were stuck in a cell with her for two days.” Tamsin’s shit-eating grin made Lauren want to punch her in the face all over again. And the most frustrating thing of all was that she was right.

Shit. 

“I should get going,” Tamsin said, pointing a thumb over her shoulder. She smirked again. “Enjoy that chi while you have it,” Tamsin told her. “At least part of me will know what it’s like to be with her.”

Lauren watched her leave, walking out toward the street. She turned then, one hand on the handle of the door to watch Tamsin climb into the scratched and dented limo and turn the engine over. It came to life and chugged eagerly as their eyes met again. Tamsin sat still, unblinking for a moment. She nodded ever-so slightly and then Lauren heard the transmission engage as she backed out of the laneway. When the limo disappeared she noticed the Camaro parked next to the fence.

Lauren sighed. It wasn’t for frustration or exclamation or even relief. It was every fear leaving her body at once. She wasn’t afraid of the Fae chi, she wasn’t afraid of losing Bo, she had been given the gift of self-preservation and though she may be small, right now she was on fire and she could defend herself if the occasion were to arise. And when it passed, and it would pass, Lauren knew she would still be stronger than she was because confidence was really what she had learned.   
__

“Kenzi.” Bo urged her on when she looked at her.

“Hale and… I are… sort of a thing, please don’t hate me.” Kenzi cowered against the inevitable storm.

Bo frowned. “You and Hale? Really? Did Lauren know about this?”

“I made her keep it a secret,” Kenzi interjected. “I was worried about people knowing and… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kept it from you.” Bo’s reaction was less deafening than Kenzi expected. In fact, Bo stared at her for so long, she started to wonder if the response was just building. “He’s going to worry about me,” she blurted. “He didn’t want me to go. I know we just got home, but I have to go, I have to tell him I’m okay.” She clasped her hands in front of her. “Bo?”

Bo blinked a few times, her mind finally catching up to the news. “Absolutely,” she said. She shook her head. “Yeah, definitely, go see him.”

Kenzi raised her eyebrows. “Really? You mean it?”

“Seriously, go.” Bo shooed her. 

Kenzi grabbed her backpack and made her way to the door just as Lauren opened it. She wrapped her arms around her, stunning Lauren with an tight embrace. “Breakfast is on me tomorrow,” she said into Lauren’s shoulder. “Ten o’clock, make sure you‘re decent.”

Bo smiled as she watched Kenzi make a dramatic exit and felt the buzz in the air when Lauren turned to her. “So…”

Lauren returned the smile walked slowly to the island. “So…”

“Are you okay?” Bo asked. “After all that?”

“Oh a little smoke inhalation never hurt anyone,” she quipped. She lifted her hand and tried to make a fist, grimacing as she flexed it. “I might have broken my hand, though.”

Bo reached for Lauren’s hand with concern, as if there was something she could do and well, she could. She lifted it to her lips, kissing her knuckles softly. “What’s gotten into you lately?”

Lauren looked at her as innocently as she could. “What do you mean?”

“Well… “ Bo held Lauren’s hand in hers, covering it with her own. “First you char-broil a Hayra, then you almost out-do me in bed, you risk your life coming to rescue me in the Morrigan’s dungeon and top it all off by punching Tamsin?”

“I think I might have out-done you.”

Bo smirked and nudged Lauren’s shoulder with her fist. “I’m serious.”

“Pour me another?” Lauren asked, nodding toward the couch. “Bring the bottle.”

She walked carefully to the couch. Even just two days of fitfully sleeping on the cot provided in the dungeon’s cell and she could feel her muscles tightening up. What she really needed was a long, hot bath. The second-hand couch felt luxurious when Lauren sat down and she hummed her approval. Bo sat down next to Lauren, setting a glass in front of her. Bo mimicked Lauren’s groan as she relaxed into the pillows. They sipped their drinks in silence, Bo not wanting to push and Lauren not quite sure where to begin.

“I, ah,” Lauren started. “I’m not positive on any of this, the research just isn’t there, it’s just reams of opinions and test results.”

Bo put her drink down and turned toward Lauren. “Test results?” She rested a hand on Lauren’s knee. “What’s going on, are you okay?”

Lauren smiled at Bo’s concern and wished she could do more than shrug and shake her head. “I came across a study that Dr. Everett was working on in the year before she died. It was about Fae that feed on human chi.”

“But I don’t--”

“I know,” Lauren held up her hand. “I know you don’t. The theories were regarding the passing of chi from Fae to human and what long term effects that has on the human body.”

Bo shifted uncomfortably. “Any conclusions?”

“None.” Lauren shook her head. “Just lots of theories. That maybe more than just life force could be transmitted from one to the other. Like increased strength, speed, intelligence, life expectancy…”

“Oh my God.” Bo covered her mouth and her eyes welled briefly before blinking it away. She lowered her hand. “At the lake.”

Lauren lips grew taught as she nodded. “I think the increased sexual desire and aggression can be attributed to that moment, yes.” She shifted on the couch, turning to face Bo. “But some humans believe chi can be nourished and grown, so it’s possible that as the ratios shift, the human chi will eventually take over again.”

“So, this is temporary.”

“I think so.”

“That’s good, isn’t it? Why do you look so disappointed?”

Lauren sighed. “I always thought that I wasn’t interested in being Fae. And then I’m feeling the power you fight with and the passion you love with,” Lauren looked away. “It was amazing. But it’s not me.” She shook her head. “I don’t want to live forever, to see the downfall of civilization. My time is limited and I accept that. Being human is who I am meant to be and… I guess that makes me a little sad.”

“I think that’s a tiny bit noble,” Bo said, the corner of her lips turned up slightly.

Lauren looked at the fireplace. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

“Never one to take a compliment.” Bo smiled and leaned into Lauren. “What you and Kenzi did to break me out of there tonight,” Bo started, “that was really special.”

“We just took a page out of your playbook.“

“Well not many Fae would go unarmed into the Morrigan’s dungeon and sucker punch a Valkyrie.”

Lauren smirked. “It’s all about taking advantage of your opportunities.” 

“Thanks,” Bo said seriously. “For everything.” She reached a hand out to cradle Lauren’s face. 

Her eyes drifted shut, a sigh escaping. “Bo,” she started, her eyes opening to meet Bo‘s, “is it always going to be like this?”

Bo lifted her head slowly before nodding. “Yes.” She smiled. “Is that okay?”

Lauren’s expression softened, her hands covering Bo‘s. “I’m not sure.” She smiled weakly. “I’m losing myself to the Fae again, but this time it’s not in servitude to the Light or my love for you. I’m being consumed by lust, chaos, and violence and I‘m afraid that I‘ll forget who I was. That you‘ll like me better--”

Bo shook her head. “Lauren--”

“I tried to wish it away until I realized that of all the things the Fae have done to me, and everything I have done for them, those things led me to you. And I can’t go back.”

It was true, Lauren had passed the point of no return. She was a human in the Fae’s world and as her own humanity was threatened by the infusion of Fae, she had felt a fraction of the great power that the Fae possess. It was a thrilling and an invigorating experience that had made her doubt her own humanity. Even now she could feel it in her bones, the Fae, but she could feel her humanity in the pit of her stomach, raging against it.

She was a science experiment gone awry. An unacknowledged abomination to the Fae but at her core she was still Dr. Lauren Lewis who was kind and smart and awkwardly funny. She was a good friend and lover and no amount of Fae chi in her blood could ever abolish those things.

Bo took a moment to push herself to her feet and reached a hand out for Lauren. “Bed?”

Lauren took Bo’s hand and was pulled upright. “I could sleep for days.” 

“Lauren? Could you do one more thing for me?”

“Of course,” she looked concerned, “anything.”

Bo twisted around to look at her back. “Could you cut this damn harness off of me? I feel like a trussed turkey.”

Lauren smiled and turned around. “I should have some snips in the lab, but…” She tucked the fingers of her uninjured hand around the cord and pulled Bo backwards. “This might work for me.”

“Easy, Annie Oakley.” Bo turned around. “I know this new-found stamina is exciting, but let’s pace ourselves, you’re still human.” She smirked at her own joke when Lauren turned around at the bottom of the stairs. 

She put a hand on her hip. “Do you want out of that, or not?”

Bo held her hands up in surrender as she walked down the last two stairs, the smirk turning into a smile. Lauren turned then, moving to the large steel cabinet in the far corner. When she returned with the steel snips, she paused, her expression serious.

“What if it’s not temporary?”

Bo stepped closer, her fingers touching Lauren’s arm. “Nothing changes, Lauren. You are still the same woman I fell in love with.”

With a shy smile directed at the floor, Lauren lifted the wire cutters, hooking them under the cord of the harness. She squeezed the handle, not expecting to be able to cut it as easily as she did. Lauren pulled the broken cord from Bo’s shoulder, sliding the loop along her arm. She pulled Lauren toward her when the harness fell to the floor, pulling her arms around her waist. 

“Now,” Bo started, her eyes searching Lauren’s face. “I’ve been thinking about you for days.”

“Likewise,” Lauren said softly.

Bo leaned forward and pressed her lips against Lauren’s and the arms around her tightened. “We should get upstairs,” she suggested, her breath coming short. “It’s far too cold to be naked down here.”

Her lips feathered Bo‘s ear. “If you say so.” Lauren was caught off guard by her own boldness even as she savored its effects. She felt a jolt ripple through Bo’s body.

“Upstairs,” she said against Lauren’s mouth before covering it with her own. 

It was on her way up the stairs to the bedroom, through the shambles they called home, her body buzzing with arousal that Lauren finally understood her place. And despite the Fae that still coursed through her body, Lauren realized that even as a human -- especially as a human -- she really did have a place in Bo’s world. After all, it was her world, too.   
__

Fin.


End file.
